The Road To Love
by 528491 Arthur
Summary: A love story between Arthur and Ariadne. With lots of obstacles in the way, will they manage to beat the odds and survive, especially when there's a baby on the way?
1. First Date

The road to love was hard, and Ariadne knew it.

As Ariadne was standing at the airport, waiting for her luggage, she saw a familiar face - Arthur. The minute she saw him, her heart stopped beating, and everything surrounding them disappeared, leaving just her and Arthur. He smiled at her, and she swore that she could just melt into his arms.

Ariadne loved everything about him. His slicked back hair, his three piece suit, his attention to detail, the look on his face when he's concentrating ... Ariadne could go on and on.

_"Quick, give me a kiss."  
"They're still looking at us."  
"Yea it was worth a shot."  
_Ariadne smiled to herself remembering this.

Arthur had not forgotten that moment either, when he stole that kiss from her. Arthur couldn't think of anything else to say, he knew the kiss wouldn't stop the projections in the dream from looking at them, but it was the perfect reason to steal a kiss from her. Arthur was breath taken at how talented she was, she was truly one of a kind.

_Look at yo__u__, you've fallen in love with a man who you don't even know anything about. Great__, __just great._ Ariadne thought to herself. What am I going to do now? Ask him out?

Well, as he would say,_it was worth a shot_.

"Arthur!" Ariadne shouted.  
"Shh ... We're not supposed to know each other!"  
"Sorry! I just wanted to know ... if you would wanna grab dinner together, you know..." Ariadne said.  
"Sure! I know a great French place about two blocks from here. You hungry?" Arthur smiled at her.  
"Lets go!" Ariadne replied, grinning.

As they both jumped in a cab, Ariadne fumbled for her totem in her pocket, quickly knocking it over, making sure she wasn't dreaming that she was on a date ... with Arthur.

"Ariadne?"  
"Yea?"  
"You do know that we're not supposed to talk to each other for a month because of safety, right?"  
Oh crap. She had totally forgotten that. "Oh... I guess I forgot. But if that's the case, why did you agree to have dinner with me?"  
"I can't say no to you, after you saved Cobb from limbo." Arthur smiled at her. She loved his smile.

After they got out of the taxi, Ariadne was instantly amazed by the restaurant. "Oh my god Arthur, this looks really expensive! it's so high class! How am I going to pay?"  
"Don't worry Ariadne, after the Fischer job, we each got paid one million dollars, have you completely forgotten? And you just relax and enjoy the food, I'll pay."  
"You don't have to do that Arthur, I'll pay."  
"Yes I do ... I want to ..." Arthur stared into her eyes, and suddenly the air between them became electric, Ariadne could feel her heart beating like a drum, and leaned in a little.  
"How many people will be dining here tonight?" The waiter asked, ruining the moment. Arthur quickly snapped out of it and replied "Two."

_Dammit! So close! _Ariadne thought to herself, following the waiter to their table.

"I want to know more about you." Ariadne said, breaking the silence between them.  
"Okay, shoot."  
"Where did you go to university?"  
"England. Oxford."  
"You majored in ..."  
"Business."  
"How old are you?"  
"28."  
"How long have you been working with Cobb?"  
"Nine years."  
"Wow, that's a really long time! Last question."  
"Okay."  
"Why did you kiss me?"  
"It was worth a shot." Arthur said, looking down at his bowl. "Waiter! Bill please!"  
"Arthur! I know that's not true, that kiss wouldn't have stopped the projections looking at us. Look I ... I really like you, I want to know how you feel about me."  
Arthur looked at her saying, "Ariadne, you are amazing. You are talented and loyal. Why did you think I agreed to have dinner with you? I like you so much, that I don't even care about breaking the rules."  
They were standing up now, facing each other. Slowly, they both tilted their heads, and leaned in for a kiss. Arthur's arms were wrapped around Ariadne's waist, as her hands were pressed on his cheeks.

Finally, what seemed like forever, they broke apart, grinning at each other.  
"Five years is a big age gap, you sure you want to do this?" Arthur asked her.  
"I don't really care." Ariadne said, smirking at Arthur.

"Where will you be heading?" Arthur asked.  
"Paris. To finish my studies. You?"  
"Barcelona. I have a friend there I want to visit." Ariadne's face dropped when she heard this.  
"I will miss you."  
"Relax Ariadne, I will be in Paris next week. I'll see you then. Till then, Goodbye."  
As Arthur turned around, and began walking away from her, Ariadne suddenly blurted out "Arthur! I ... I love you."  
Arthur turned around to surprise, then ran to her, pulling her closely, and whispered, " I love you too." Arthur kissed her forehead and gave her one last smile before leaving. 


	2. Second Date

Disclaimer : I don't own the movie Inception, or any of the characters ... I just like to write fan fiction :P (I forgot to write this on my first chapter sorry!)

* * *

"Ariadne?"  
"Yes Arthur?"  
Arthur had called Ariadne a few days after he arrived in Barcelona.  
"I have some ... issues I need to sort out before going back to Paris, and I can't leave until next month."  
"Why! You can't just kiss me and expect me to wait till next month before I see you again!"  
"I'm so sorry Ariadne, I really, really, really want to see you again. But I have to handle this before seeing you again. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Arthur hung up, leaving Ariadne heart broken.

A month went by really slowly, and Arthur finally arrived at the airport in Paris. He saw Ariadne waiting for him, tears in her eyes as she rushed towards him, hugging him tightly.  
"I missed you. I'm so sorry for making you wait." Arthur said, giving her a light peck on her cheek.  
"I missed you too. Let's go have dinner and you can tell me all about your trip to Barcelona!" Ariadne said, dragging him to a fine Italian restaurant.

"So tell me, what exactly did you have to do in Barcelona?" Ariadne asked, eating her plate of spaghetti.  
"I was discussing my next job with my employer,it's another extraction job. The mark is a military soldier who is suspected to be a spy. I already got Eames and Yusuf in. So do you want to be our architect?"  
"Of course!" Ariadne said excitedly, "But... they can't know we're dating ... especially Eames."  
"Duh." Arthur simply said.

"Where are you staying?" Ariadne asked as Arthur walked her home.  
"Don't know yet. Maybe in a nearby hotel." Arthur shrugged.  
"You can stay at my apartment, I mean, on the couch." Ariadne blushed.  
"Thanks." Arthur smiled.

When they got to her front door and Ariadne unlocked the door, Arthur decided it was time.  
"Ariadne, I got you something from Barcelona." Arthur pulled out a box from his pocket, and inside were diamond earrings and a pink scarf.  
Ariadne gasped. " Arthur... thank you!"

Ariadne smashed her lips onto his, pulling him into her home with his tie. Arthur kicked the door shut as they began undressing themselves, then collapsing onto Ariadne's bed.  
"Arthur ... don't stop." Ariadne moaned while Arthur kissed her neck. Arthur knew at this point, that it was finally time for him to loosen up.  
"I'm yours honey."


	3. I'm Pregnant

Ariadne wrapped her legs around Arthur's waist as he lifted her from the door to the bed. Arthur hands were tangled in her hair, as he planted love bites all the way down her neck.  
Their bodies were pressed together, and it felt so good. Arthur gently unhooked her bra, and Ariadne moaned. Soon, they were naked, and collapsed onto the bed, never breaking the kiss. Then he is inside of her and Ariadne's body arches, grabbing Arthur's face for a more deeper kiss.

When it was over, the two lie under the tangled sheets of Ariadne's bed, breathing heavily. Arthur turned to Ariadne, who was smiling, and gave her another kiss before falling asleep.

Ariadne woke up with a big smile on her face, she reached for her totem on her bedside table and flicked it, seeing it hit the ground only made her more happy. "Arthur?" She turned over to her side, expecting him to be next to her, only to find a note :

Ariadne,  
Meet me at the warehouse. Extraction job starts today.  
Arthur

Ariadne quickly got dressed, and did a few things before leaving.

"Well well well, if it isn't Ariadne! Good to see you, love! Where did you get those lovely earrings ?" The minute Ariadne walked through the door of the warehouse, she was greeted by Eames, who gave her a big hug.  
"Oh I umm ... got them from a friend." Ariadne glance at Arthur, "Good to see you Eames, Yusuf, Arthur." Ariadne gave each of them a weak smile and headed back to her work place in the corner of the warehouse.

Arthur was confused, yesterday night was terrific, why was she so upset today? He decided to confront her.  
"Great job Ariadne!" Arthur said.  
Ariadne mumbled something which sounded like thanks and continued with her sketches.  
"But there's a little problem with this one." Arthur pointed to an blank piece of paper. "Maybe you could add a little something like this?" Arthur pretended to draw something, but wrote on the blank piece of paper : What is wrong?  
Ariadne quickly replied saying, "Thanks! But what about this?" She also pretended to sketch something but wrote two words on the paper : I'm pregnant.  
Arthur's eyes widened as he stumbled for words, "that's ... good ... um ... I'll go now ..." He quickly walked away back to seat.

Ariadne knew this was possibly the worst way to break the news to him, she could see the shock in his eyes as he walked away.

"Well, that's it for me, see you tomorrow, love." Eames patted her on the shoulder before heading out the door.  
"It's about time I head home too, goodnight!" Yusuf said and shut the door behind him.

Arthur immediately walked over to her desk. "You're pregnant!"  
Tears began forming in her eyes, "Yes."  
"Is it ... mine?" he asked.  
"Who else would it be?"  
"Perfect!" Arthur muttered sarcastically.  
"Arthur ..." Ariadne stood up and held his hands. "I love you, and you love me. We can do this. I know we can."  
"Are you sure you want the baby, you could always get an abortion, or give it to someone else, or ... "  
"Arthur, I'm sure. Now the question is, will you raise it with me?" Ariadne looked up, staring straight into his eyes, waiting for his answer.  
"I'll raise it with you." Arthur said quietly and hugged her. Tears began to form as Ariadne whispered "Thank you."


	4. Love Triangle

"What's wrong love?" Eames asked Ariadne, "I thought you would be happy to see me."  
"I am happy to see you, I just have a lot on my mind."  
"What?"  
Ariande saw the look on Arthur's face, he obviously did not want to tell them, but she knew she had to.  
"Im pregnant." Ariadne burst into tears. Arthur and Yusuf quickly rushed over to comfort her.  
"Who knocked you up! I'm gonna bloody kill the man and then I'll..." Eames exploded.  
"Eames stop. It's not what you think.."  
"What do you bloody mean it's not what I think, you're knocked up, and I'm gonna bloody..." Eames face turned all red.  
"Eames, he loves me and we're going to raise it together."Ariadne quickly explained.  
"Just tell me who is the bloody hell knocked you up!" Eames yelled angrily.  
"Calm down Eames, just promise not to hurt him okay?"  
"Fine!" Eames said.  
"It's Arthur."  
"Arthur!" Eames turned to Arthur, "You!"  
Arthur just nodded, looking down at his shoes.  
"I can't believe it!" Eames suddenly punches Arthur in the face, "I can't believe you bloody ..."  
"Eames calm down!" Ariadne pushed Eames away from Arthur, "Just calm down..."  
"I'm going out for some fresh air." Eames said angrily, stomping out the door, slamming the door shut.  
"I'll let you two talk." Yusuf said, walking out the door too.

"Are you okay Arthur?" Ariadne rushed over to him, giving him a peck on the cheek.  
"I'm fine. I guess I sort of deserved that ..." Arthur mumbled, grabbed a band-aid to stop his head from bleeding.  
"You didn't deserve that at all! What would make you think that?" Ariadne asked.  
"I got you pregnant, after two dates ..." Arthur mumbled.  
"It's not all your fault." Ariadne explained, "It's my fault for telling him."  
"It's my fault. So I promise you, Ariadne, I will look after you, and our baby, until the day I die." Arthur said. Ariadne smiled and kissed Arthur.

After one hour, Eames and Yusuf came back.  
"Hi!" Ariadne greeted them.  
"Hey." Eames said coldly, before walking back to his seat. Yusuf gave Ariadne a quick hug.  
"So the mark is Thomas Conner, a military soldier, his general suspects he is a spy, working for other countries. We need to find out if he is a spy or not and if he is, what country he's working for." Arthur paused. "He is married to Naomi Clarence, and lives in Boston. He is currently on vacation in Paris for a week and is staying at a motel called Loisirs Sejours, in room 302, I have got us a copy of the keys, we can sneak in their room on Friday night, and start the mission. It's a simple extraction job,his subconscious is not trained. Yusuf, you know what to do. Eames, I need you to be Naomi Clarence in his dream. Here is a picture of her. She is at the beach now alone, you can go observe her if you want."  
"Glad to darling, anything to get out of this bloody warehouse." Eames said and walked out the door.  
"He's still in a bad mood from what happened today." Yusuf explained, "I'll start working on the chemicals."  
"Ariadne, anything in mind you want to build?"  
"I was thinking, maybe army headquarters or a training field?"  
"Army headquarters would be good, try to make the mazes more complex and remember to make a safe."  
"Okay, I'll start now." Ariadne was prepared to go back to her desk then asked, "What are we going to do about Eames?"  
"I'll handle it. Don't worry about it." Arthur quickly gave Ariadne a quick peck, then left.

Arthur found Eames on the beach, studying Naomi and writing down notes.  
"Eames?" Arthur asked.  
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Eames turned around to face him angrily.  
"We need to talk." Arthur said quietly.  
"Sure darling! What do you wanna talk about?" Eames said sarcastically.  
"Walk with me." Arthur said quietly, motioning Eames to follow him.

Soon, they arrived at a nearby park bench and sat down. Arthur was the first to break the silence.  
"Why are you so mad?"  
"You bloody knocked her up! Why do you think I'm mad!"  
"It was an accident. We went on a date, I walked her home, and it just happened. We love each other, and we will raise the baby together. But I don't think me knocking her up is the only thing that you're mad at." Arthur replied calmly.  
"Fine!" Eames suddenly shouted, "I like her! I was going to ask her out but then YOU knocked her up! I don't want you to hurt her!"

Arthur was stunned, he couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't think Eames would like Ariadne.

"Look Eames, I love her. I would never hurt her."  
"And how would I know for sure!"  
"Eames ... I love her. I would die for her."  
"Fine ... I guess I could let go, but if you do anything to upset her, I'm gonna bloody kill you!"  
"You have my word. I won't hurt her." Arthur said, "So we're good?"  
"I guess so ..." Eames said, "Darling." 


	5. Reunion

Ariadne was surprised to see Arthur and Eames walk in together, she expected some cold glares from each other, but they were smiling and Eames was teasing him again. Everything must have gone well.

"Hello darling!" Eames said, giving her a wink as he walked past her. She couldn't help but smile back. Arthur came to her table and told her everything was fine and that it had all been taken care of.

"Tomorrow Thomas will be going out to dinner with Naomi. They booked the V.I.P room in the restaurant Bonne A Manger at 8pm. After that, Thomas will head back to the motel and Naomi will go shopping with his friends. I can go in, pretending to be room service and offer him some drugged wine. He'll fall asleep and we can start. We won't have to worry about Naomi coming home, because they only have one set of keys, and Thomas will have the keys, Naomi will probably be planning on ringing the bell when she got back. Ariadne, have you finished your work?" Arthur asked.

"Yep! Thomas is ready to go in!" Ariadne excitedly.  
"And Eames, you're ready to be Naomi?"  
"I'm ready, love!"  
"Yusuf, how's it going with the chemicals?"  
"All done!"  
"Great! Everything is pretty much done, so we can all go home now. Remember to come back here tomorrow morning ... early."  
"Well, that's it for me mate, I'm gonna head down to the bar. See ya!"  
"That's it for me too, goodbye everyone!" Yusuf and Eames hurried out the door, leaving Arthur and Ariadne alone.

"Ariadne?"  
"Yes Arthur?"  
"I can't let you go into the dream."  
"Why!"  
"The chemicals might effect ... the baby's health ..." Arthur stammered.  
"Oh... in that case, I'll sit out then." Ariadne said. There was an awkward silence between them that Arthur didn't know how to break. Luckily, Ariadne said, "Arthur, it's only three in the afternoon, let's head back to my place and watch TV! American Idol is on!" Arthur smiled, as They both headed out.

_Ding Dong, Ding Dong! _Ariadne's door bell started ringing.  
"Arthur, can you go see who's outside, I'm wanna see who gets eliminated!"  
"Sure." Arthur quickly opened the door, and saw the person he would least expect to see - Cobb, with Philipa and James.

"Hey Arthur! This is Ariadne's apartment, why are you here?" Cobb asked.  
"Umm ... " Arthur was lost of words when Ariadne saw Cobb.  
"Cobb!" I can't believe you're here!" Ariadne gave Cobb a big hug.  
"Uncle Artie!" James and Philipa yelled as they each hugged one of Arthur's legs.  
"Nice to see you guys too!" Arthur exclaimed, "Now let's go inside and play!"  
"Yahhh!" James and Philipa yelled as she followed Arthur inside, leaving Ariadne and Cobb at the door.

"So why are you here?" Ariadne asked Cobb.  
"I came to check on you, to see if you were alright." Cobb said, "Not many people go into Limbo on their first mission."  
"I'm fine."Ariadne replied.  
"So ... why is Arthur here?" Cobb asked.  
"Umm ... we're sort of ... umm ... dating." Ariadne said, "He's just staying here until he buys a house in Paris."  
"It's about time you two started dating!" Cobb exclaimed.  
"Cobb!" Arthur yelled, "Your kids want ice-cream! Should I give them some?"  
"Let's head in, and we can catch up." Ariadne smiled, pulling him in.

"So how have you been?" Cobb asked Ariadne and Arthur. James and Philipa were playing Lego quietly next to them.  
"Yea ... about that ..." Ariadne began to blush. Arthur put his arm around her shoulder.  
"What?" Cobb asked curiously.  
"I'm pregnant." Ariadne said. Cobb's eyes widen and his mouth was shaped like an 'o'.  
"You're joking right?" Cobb asked. Ariadne just stared at him.  
"Wow. Congrats ... I guess ..." Cobb said.  
"Thanks. Is it safe for Ariadne to go into a dream now? Will the chemicals mess with ... the baby's health?" Arthur asked.  
"No. It doesn't effect the baby at all. When Mal was pregnant, she still went into the dream world, and James and Philipa are fine." Cobb said.  
"That's great!" Ariadne exclaimed, and hugged Arthur tightly, eager to go into the dream world the next day. 


	6. The Proposal

Cobb and his kids stayed for a lovely home cooked dinner before leaving. After they left, Arthur opened a silver briefcase - the Dream Machine.  
"What are you doing?" Ariadne asked.  
"Well, since it doesn't effect the baby's health, I figured why not? You deserve a break." Arthur pulled out an IV needle and inserted it in his arm. Not long, he was asleep. Ariadne joined him.

She opened her eyes to a lovely beach, with waves lapping the shore. It was sunset, and Arthur was there, with a bouquet of roses.

"For you." Arthur handed her the roses.  
"Thank you!" Ariadne smiled, and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, Arthur's arms were snaked up her back, gripping her tightly.  
"You're welcome." Arthur said, breaking the kiss, "C'mon, let's go for a walk." Arthur took her hand as they strolled along the beach.

"This is so romantic. Thank you for bringing me here." Ariadne said, "Look! There's a table!" Before her, was a candle lit table, with two chairs.  
"I thought you might like a little dessert." Arthur smirked as her, and she realised that there was two bowls of ice-cream sitting on the table. "I got your favourite flavour - strawberry." Arthur said, as they both sat down, "Try some."

Ariadne took a bite and smiled, "I haven't had ice-cream in such a long time! It's delicious!"  
"I'm glad you like it." Arthur grinned.  
"I still don't know anything about you, I mean, you told me some personal details about you, but if I'm having a baby with you, I want to know everything about you." Ariadne said.  
Arthur nodded in agreement, "You're right. Well, since we have about five minutes in the dream world, so you better hurry up!"

"What were you're family like?"  
"My dad left home when I was 5, and my mum's been in and out of jail since then, leaving me to take care of my self. I ran away when I was 15, and never went back. My mum thinks I'm dead."  
"I'm so sorry..." Ariadne felt sad for Arthur.  
"Don't be. It's easier that way." Arthur said solemnly, "Next question?"  
"When was the last time you have a girlfriend?"  
"Believe it or not, I was a geek in high school, only had one or two girlfriends in my life. I lost my virginity to you!" Arthur chuckled.  
"Really? Me too..." Ariadne smiled.

"Ariadne ..."Arthur's voice trailed off.  
"What?" Ariadne asked.  
"I love you. I will spend the rest of my life taking care of you ... and our baby, no matter what it takes."  
"Aww thats so sweet." Ariadne said. Arthur got down on one knee and took out a huge diamond ring. Ariadne gasped.  
"Ariadne, I want our baby to be born into a family with a husband and wife who loves each other. And I love you with all my heart and soul, so Ariadne, will you marry me?"  
Ariadne's jaw was opened wide, and just as she was prepared to answer, they woke up.

"Arthur ... Did you just proposed to me in a dream?"  
"I meant every word I said. I do want our baby to be born into a family with a husband and wife who loves each other. Ariadne, will you marry me?" Arthur kneeled down amd pulled out the same diamond ring Ariadne saw in the dream.  
"So you're proposing two times?"  
"I guess so."  
"Okay..."  
"Will you marry me or not?" Arthur smirked.  
"I ... don't know ... "Ariadne stammered, "Look, I love you, I do want want our baby to be born into a family with a husband and wife who loves each other, just as you said, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet... I'll have to think about it ..."  
"I understand honey." Arthur replied, "No pressure. You think about it okay? Goodnight Ariadne." Arthur gave Ariadne a kiss on her forehead before heading to sleep, leaving Ariadne alone to think.


	7. Eames Finds Out

"Do you know what it is to be a lover? Half of a whole?" Mal asked Ariadne. Normally, Ariadne would reply no, but she had Arthur now.  
"Yes." Ariadne replied confidently.  
"Do you really? Do you think Arthur will die for you? Will Arthur still be with you if it wasn't for the baby?" Mal asked, holding a kitchen knife in her hand.  
"He ... loves ... me ..." Ariadne said, frightened.  
"No he doesn't." Mal sneered, and dived the knife into her heart.

Ariadne woke up sweating. She quickly grabbed her totem and flicked it, she was relieved when it hit the table with a thud.  
"Ariadne? Is something wrong?" Arthur woke up next to her.  
"Just a nightmare." Ariadne said.  
"Okay then. I'll get us breakfast." Arthur got off the bed, and strolled off to the kitchen.

Arthur was scrambling eggs when he heard a strange sound. He followed the strange noise to the bathroom.  
"Ariadne?" Arthur asked. There was not reply, so he just went in. He saw Ariadne kneeled next to the toilet vomiting.  
"Ariadne are you all right?" Arthur was shocked and he ran next to Ariadne, hugging her.  
"Morning sickness. Haven't you heard of it?" Ariadne looked up at him, asking.  
"Oh. Yes I have heard of it, it just completely slipped my mind." Arthur said, watching Ariadne vomit again. "I'm so sorry I did this to you."  
"Its not all your fault." Ariadne said, "Now let's change and go to the warehouse. Extraction today, remember?"  
"Of course I remember." Arthur said.  
"Arthur ..." Ariadne said, remembering what Mal had said in her dream, "If I wasn't having this baby, would you still ask me to marry you, would you still be with me?"  
"Ariadne, if you weren't having this baby, I would still be with you, but I probably wouldn't have asked you to marry me." Ariadne's face dropped. "I like to take things slow when I'm in a relationship with a girl I love, but in this case, you're pregnant, so I guess we can't take things slow. You go get changed now, is it your turn to forget things now?" Arthur said, jokingly.  
"Of course not." Ariadne smiled and gave Arthur a kiss.

"Why are you guys late? I thought you said to be early, darling." Eames said the minute they walked into the warehouse.  
"Morning sickness." Ariadne explained.  
"Alright guys time to start dreaming." Arthur said, "I want everyone to know the maze like the back of their hand."

"So then you turn left and there is a vent behind the door, crawl through it and turn right, and you should be at the safe." Ariadne finished, "Any questions?"  
"Nope, love." Eames winked at Ariadne, and Arthur clenched his teeth, he knew Eames liked her, but they're dating, and Eames has no right to flirt with her.  
"Great job Ariadne." Arthur said, "Now it's time to wake up, everyone knows what to do." Arthur pulled the trigger on his gun and he was soon awake, Yusuf waked up soon after that.

"So darling, what it's like dating lover boy?" Eames said.  
"This is no time for chit chat, we need to wake up." Ariadne said sternly.  
"Just answer the question love, then you can wake up."  
"Fine. Dating Arthur is peaceful, easy, it's like I don't even need to try to love him. And when I wake up next to him, I can see it in his eyes too, I love him, and he loves me. We're meant to be. Getting knocked up is just quickening the process of it all I guess." Ariadne chuckled.  
"What do you mean darling?" Eames asked curiously.  
"Arthur asked me to marry him. He said that he wants our baby to be born into a family with a husband and wife who loves each other." Ariadne said.  
Eames face dropped, "And you said yes?"  
"I haven't decided yet. Arthur gave me time to think this through. Time to wake up!" Ariadne held the gun to her head and soon she was awake, leaving Eames in the dream world to figure out how to stop Ariadne from marrying Arthur.


	8. Eames Intervention

"Why is Eames still in there?" Arthur asked Ariadne when she woke up.  
"I don't know. When I was about to pull the trigger, he asked me what was it like to date you. And I told him you asked me to marry you." Ariadne explained.

"Congratulations!" Yusuf exclaimed and gave Ariadne a hug, "I can't believe you're getting married!"  
"We're not ... yet. Ariadne hasn't said yes yet. I'm giving her time to think." Arthur said.  
"Well you should marry him, he's a great man." Yusuf said and Arthur blushed.

"Ariadne ... we need to talk ..." Arthur said and dragged her to the corner of the warehouse, "Eames likes you."  
"What!" Ariadne exclaimed.  
"When I talked to him after you told him you were pregnant, he said he liked you. I think ... he wants to break us up ... thats why he asked you that question ..." Arthur said quietly.  
"Well I'm not going anywhere, I love _you_, not him." Ariadne smiled and kissed Arthur, "Besides, I won't date him anyway, he flirts too much." Arthur laughed at her remark.

"Darling? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Ariadne turned around to see Eames smiling at her.  
"Okay." Ariadne said, leaving Arthur and following Eames outside.  
"Listen darling ... I don't think you should marry Arthur." Eames said.  
"Why?"  
"You don't know anything about the guys, love."  
"Like you know anything about him." Ariadne scoffed.  
"I know he was married." Eames said quietly.  
"What!" Ariadne did a double take.  
"Ask him yourself then. Goodbye darling!" Eames did a two finger salute before heading back inside the warehouse.

"Arthur honey." Ariadne said. They were taking lunch break, and were at a nearby cafe.  
"Yea. What's up?"  
"I know you were married before. Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur looked down.  
"I was 18, going to Vegas for the weekend with my friends. We ended by getting drunk. And when I woke up the next day, I was married to one of my friends. We got divorced, and I never saw her again. I'm sorry I didn't tell you..."  
"It's okay." Ariadne said, "I would pay to see you get drunk."  
"Dream on Ariadne." Arthur laughed.  
"So ... any more secrets you would like to tell me before I find out from Eames?"  
"Eames told you! See I was right! He is trying to break us up!" Arthur yelled angrily.  
"I guess he is. Look I'll talk to him okay?" Ariadne said, trying to calm him down.  
"Fine." Arthur said.  
"Good. Now let's go, our lunch break is over." Ariadne said, getting up.

"Eames?" Eames looked up from his notes and smiled.  
"Whats up, darling?"  
"I need to talk to you." Ariadne said seriously.  
"Okay love." Eames said, following her outside the warehouse.  
"I know you want to break me and Arthur up." Ariadne said quietly, "And I know that you like me."  
"I'll admit it, I like you darling. And yes, I am jealous. But I really don't think you should be marrying him love."  
"Why? Because I don't know anything about him? I know enough about him to know that he loves me, and I love him too. So stop messing with out relationship. I love him, Eames, get over it." Ariadne said angrily.  
"I guess I should get over you ..."Eames' voice trailed off, "But I still don't think you should marry him darling." Eames had walked inside before Ariadne could said anything else.

"How did it go?" Arthur whispered to Ariadne when she came by his desk.  
"Great ..." Ariadne lied.  
"You're not a very good liar Ariadne. Tell me what happened."  
"He admitted that he liked me and he was jealous. In the end, he agreed that he should get over me but ..."  
"But what?"  
"He still thinks I shouldn't marry you."  
"Oh ..." Arthur said quietly, "Well in that case, you should just marry me to force him to get over you." Arthur winked.  
"I'm still thinking about it, I don't know if I'm ready yet!" Ariadne rolled her eyes and laughed at Arthur's solution. 


	9. The Naomi Interference

I would like to thank **-ChocoCookie-** for reviewing my chapters, it means a lot! :)

* * *

"Okay everybody ready?"Arthur asked. they were all in Thomas' motel room, hooked up to the machine.  
"Ready!" Ariadne smiled at Arthur.  
"Sweet dreams everyone!" Yusuf said, and pushed the button.

"Okay ... so he's not a spy." Arthur said, reading through the files from Thomas' safe.  
"Great love, now we gotta wake up." Eames said. Then the bomb he put on the ground exploded and they woke up.

"Hello everyone." Arthur, Ariadne and Eames woke up to the voice of Naomi. Naomi held a gun to Yusuf's head, grinning at them.  
"What the bloody hell do you want!" Eames yelled angrily at her.  
"Calm down, i'm just here to tell you ..." Naomi smiled evilly, "That Cobol Engineering sent me to kill you."  
"So why don't you just kill us now?" Arthur said calmly.  
"Because ... I feel like torturing you first. " Naomi shifted the gun towards Ariadne, "I heard you were pregnant. Why don't we start with you then?"

"No!" Arthur jumped in front of Ariadne as Naomi pulled the trigger. Arthur was shot and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Eames immediately jumped up and knocked Naomi down, grabbing the gun and pointing it to her.  
"I think you might wanna go back to Cobol Engineering and tell them you failed, darling." Eames smirked. Naomi growled and left as quickly as she could.

"Are you okay Arthur?" Tears swelled in her eyes as Ariadne sat helplessly next to Arthur.  
"I'm okay ..." Arthur gave her a weak smile.  
"No you're not ... we need to get you to the hospital now!" Ariadne looked at Arthur's bleeding chest and felt the urge to cry.  
"We can't ... what are we going to tell them if they ask how I got shot?" Arthur said.  
"I'm not going to let you die." Ariadne started sobbing.  
"I did this to save you ... and the baby. I said that I would do whatever it takes to take care of both of you ..." Arthur said.  
"I'll do it." Ariadne said sobbing, "I'll marry you. I love you Arthur."  
"I love you too Ariadne." Arthur's face brightened up. Even Eames couldn't help but smile as they both kissed.

"Ariadne we need to get Arthur to a hospital!" Eames said, "Yusuf call 911!"  
"The ambulance is coming now!" Yusuf said.  
"We'll just say the it was a suicide attempt, and that he found the gun in a nearby alley." Eames explained the plan to them.  
"Thanks Eames." Arthur said, smiling at him for the first time in a long while.

"How are you feeling?" Ariadne asked Arthur in the hospital.  
"Fine I guess..." Arthur smiled at her, "Did you really mean what you said when I was shot? Will you really marry me?"  
"Of course!" Ariadne smiled back, "But what is your last name, I mean, it's gonna be my last name too right?"  
"My full name is Arthur James." Arthur replied calmly.  
"James, Ariadne James ... sounds pretty good to me." Ariadne laughed and kissed her.

"Okay, you seem fine. You're free to go." The doctor said to Arthur.  
"Thanks." Arthur replied as he waked out of the hospital, holding Ariadne's hand.  
"We have to tell my parents that we're getting married ... and that I'm pregnant." Ariadne said quietly.  
"Fine by me. But when are we going to tell them?"  
"Umm I was planning to go now if it was okay with you."  
"Sure. But first I want to show you something." Arthur said.

Not long, Arthur and Ariadne came to this big house, with three levels and a garden.  
"I bought this house for us." Arthur said, "Let's go inside."  
"There's a garden and a swimming pool which our baby can play in. There's also a jacuzzi where we can relax. I was thinking the first floor of the house will be the lounge, the second floor can be the kitchen and the dining room, and the last floor can be our rooms, there's also a barbecue area on top of the house." Arthur took Ariadne for a tour around the house, explaining.  
"Arthur ... this is perfect!" Ariadne beamed at him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you!"  
"No problem. Now let's go see your parents."


	10. Surprise Surprise

"Can I wear my ring now? My parents are very hard to please, if they see this huge diamond ring, they might like you." Ariadne said jokingly as Arthur gave her the ring.  
"Do you like it ... the ring?" Arthur said quietly while driving.  
"Of course I do!" Ariadne gave Arthur a small peck on the cheek, making him smile slightly.

"Hello?" Ariadne's mother, Julie, asked opening the door.  
"It's me mum!" Ariadne said, throwing her arms around her.  
"I can't believe you're here! We haven't talk to you in ages!" Ariadne's dad, Nate, said.  
"Mum, Dad, this is my umm ... fiancé, Arthur." Ariadne said.  
"Hi nice to meet you." Arthur smiled and shook their hands.  
"Come in, come in! You guys obviously have so much to tell us!" Julie said, practically dragging them in.

"So how did you meet?" Nate asked them.  
"I need a new architect for my work project, and I happened to know her professor, and he highly recommended her to me, and that's how we met." Arthur smiled at Ariadne.

"When did he propose?" Julie asked curiously.  
"Umm ... A few days ago. He gave me time to think about it, and i said yes yesterday." Ariadne said.  
"So how long have you been dating?" Julie asked.  
"One or two months." Arthur said, looking down awkwardly.  
"That's a bit quick isn't it?" Nate said sternly.  
"But we love each other Dad. It's not like one of those times where you think you're in love, but you end up breaking up. This is real." Ariadne explained.  
"I'm glad to hear that then." Nate said smiling.

"Are you guys planning on having kids? I really want grandchildren!" Julie said.  
"Julie! That's personal!" Nate exclaimed.  
"That's okay. Ariadne is actually pregnant." Arthur said calmly. Both parents looked up in surprise.  
"You're pregnant!" Julie exclaimed.  
"Yes Mum." Ariadne said, hoping that they wouldn't get mad.  
"That's great!" Julie cried and threw her arms around Arthur. Arthur awkwardly hugged her back as Ariadne giggled.  
"Well, we gotta go mum. We'll inform you when the wedding is."  
"Bye honey." Ariadne gave her parents a quick kiss before leaving.  
"It was nice to meet you."Arthur gave them a smile before heading out the door.

"That went well." Ariadne said as Arthur was driving back to her apartment.  
"Yea I guess so." Arthur said, avoiding eye contact.  
"What's wrong?" Ariadne asked.  
"Nothing." Arthur replied.  
"There is something up. Were my parents bothering you?"  
"No it's just that ..." Arthur looked into her eyes, "I'm usually very organised and professional, I've never dating co-workers before. I guess I don't want us to end up like Cobb and Mal ..." Arthur's voice trailed off.  
"Arthur," Ariadne said, "We'll be fine."  
"I hope so." Arthur said.

"Arthur ... something's wrong!" Ariadne exclaimed.  
Arthur's head jerked up in surprise, "What?"  
"We're in a dream."

"What!" Arthur stopped the car, staring at her.  
"Check your totem." Ariadne said. Arthur rolled his loaded die, and it landed on the number eight.  
"You're right." Arthur said, frowning.  
"What do we do now?" Ariadne asked.  
"We try and find who put us under."  
"As they got out of the car, they saw Naomi there, pointing a gun towards them. Arthur immediately pulled out a gun too, pointing it to her.  
"What do you want?" Arthur said.  
"Nothing. I'm just here to send a message." Naomi said sneering.  
"What message?" Ariadne asked.  
"Jessica just wants to tell Arthur that she's back." Naomi sneered again, and the ground beneath them exploded.


	11. Jessica

Arthur and Ariadne woke up with a jolt, and looked around. They were still in the car, parked in an alley a few blocks away from Ariadne's parents house. Ariadne and Arthur both check their totems and they were relieved when it showed they were in reality.

"Call your mother. Check to see if we were ever there." Arthur said sternly.  
"Okay." Ariadne said, as she dialed the number.

"Hello?"  
"Hey mum."  
"Hi baby! Is anything wrong? We just saw you and your fiancé a few minutes ago."  
"Oh ... I just wanted to check if I left my umm ... wallet there."  
"Nope."  
"Oh okay then, bye!"  
"Bye!"

Ariadne hung up and turned to Arthur, "We were there."  
"Good." Arthur replied, "Now let's go back to your apartment, I need to ring Eames and Cobb."  
"Why?"  
"They need to get over here, now." Arthur said, driving as fast as he could back to her house.

"Eames?" Arthur said, on the phone to Eames.  
"Yes darling? Is there a problem?"  
"Get over to Ariadne's apartment now."  
"Why darling?"  
"Jessica is back."  
"Bloody hell! I'll be there tomorrow morning." Eames quickly hung up.

"Arthur?"  
"Yes Ariadne?"  
"Who is Jessica?"  
Arthur looked down and said nothing.  
"Tell me Arthur, I can handle it."  
"We dated when I first started working with Cobb. After a year I broke up with her, I didn't know that she was the daughter of the head of Cobol Engineering. After Cobb and I joined Cobol Engineering, we were assigned to be in the same team she was in. We ended up arguing all day long, and she was fired. She swore she would be back for revenge, and she almost jeopardized every mission we did. Then she suddenly disappeared ..." Arthur said, "I was unprofessional back then. I learnt from my mistake and I'm sorry I didn't tell you."  
"It's okay. Go call Cobb now." Ariadne said, and Arthur nodded and went back to the phone.

The next day, Cobb and Eames both arrived at Ariadne's apartment after breakfast.  
"Wow, I didn't know you proposed!" Cobb said the minute he saw Ariadne's diamond ring.  
"Uh-huh." Arthur said, leading them into the lounge room, "As I said on the phone, Jessica is back."  
"How did you find out about this?" Cobb asked.  
"Naomi put us under and told us." Arthur said.  
"Who is Naomi?" Cobb asked.  
"Cobol Engineering's agent, love" Eames answering. Cobb nodded.  
"I'm afraid that Cobol Engineering AND Jessica are after us now." Arthur said, "I think it's time we disappear."

"I don't need to disappear. Saito helped me clear all the charges held against me, so as far as Cobol is concerned, I'm off the list. Jessica wouldn't come and get me, only after you and Eames. So good luck." Cobb said.  
"What does this have to do with Eames?" Ariadne asked.  
"When Cobb and I joined Cobol Engineering, we were assigned to the same team Eames and Jessica were in. Eames did a one-night-stand with her and got her mad. So she argued with both of us all day, and she was fired." Arthur said. Eames looked down in embarrassment.

"I have to go. I don't want to get involved in this. I'll let you guys know if any news about Jessica comes up. Good bye." Cobb said, and walked out the door.  
"So ... am I in trouble?" Ariadne asked once Cobb left.  
"Jessica wants revenge. She might hurt you to hurt me." Arthur said.  
"So what are we going to do?" Ariadne was scared now.  
"We're going to disappear."


	12. Eradication

"Where are we going to go?" Ariadne asked, stuffing clothes into her suitcase.  
"I have a hidden house in Australia, not even Cobb knows about it. I was thinking us ... and Eames can hang there for a while."  
"Are you sure you can tolerate Eames?"  
"I'll be fine." Arthur said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Eames?" Arthur said.  
"What darling?"  
"I need to talk to you."  
"Wassup? Can't we do this later?"  
"No, Ariadne's taking a shower, and she can't know about this."  
"What is it?"  
"I need you to perform Eradication ... on me."  
"Why?" Eames gasped.  
"If Jessica comes and searches my memories, she'll find Ariadne and _torture_ her. I can't let that happen. I need you to eradicate all my memories of Ariadne."  
"Then you'll forget who she is."  
"It's worth it."  
"I won't let you do that darling. All you have to do is train her." Eames raised his voice.  
"That won't be enough ... you know what she's capable of." Arthur said.  
"I'll think about it love." Eames said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eames and Arthur swirled around to see Ariadne standing there in a bath robe. Eames whistled and walked off.  
"Nothing." Arthur said.  
"You're lying. Tell me." Ariadne said.  
"What would you do if I got into an accident and lost my memory of you?" Arthur asked.  
"I would still stand by you, and help you try to remember your lost memories, and hopefully you will still love me. But I would be heart broken. Why?" Ariadne looked up, staring into his eyes."

"I want Eames to perform Eradication on me ..." Arthur said quietly, "To protect you."  
"What's Eradication?" Ariadne asked.  
"Eames will go into my subconscious and destroy all my memories of you, so when Jessica comes to find me, she won't find you, and you'll be safe."  
"NO." Ariadne said, tears forming in her eyes, "You are not doing this. You'll forget me."  
"I have to." Arthur said solemnly, "For you."  
"I am not letting you do this Arthur." Ariadne said sternly.  
"Too bad." Arthur said.

"Our rides here!" Eames yelled.  
"Good." Arthur said, grabbing his suitcase and walking out the door.

"You can't let him do this!" Ariadne said to Eames once Arthur left.  
"He's only doing this to protect you love." Eames said.  
"Is there anyway ... that you can undo Eradication?" Ariadne asked, hoping the answer would be yes.  
"There is ..." Eames said, "But only one person knows how to."  
"Who?"  
"Mal." Eames said, "Even Cobb doesn't know. But Mal is dead so I guess you can't undo it."  
"Just stop him from doing this." Ariadne said sternly.  
"I'll try my best love." Eames gave Ariadne a two finger salute, and grabbed his suitcase walking out the door.

She couldn't live without Arthur. She knows what it feels like to be a lover now, a half of whole. Mal had been in her dreams lately, haunting her. If only she could find a way to ask Mal ...

Ariadne sighed and left her apartment.


	13. He Forgets

"Ready darling?" Eames asked.  
"I just need to talk to Ariadne."  
"Okay. I'll let you two lovebirds alone." Eames said and walked briskly out the door of their new home in Australia.

"I don't want you to do this!" Ariadne sobbed.  
"I'm doing this for you ... I love you Ariadne." Arthur leaned in and kissed her passionately.  
"I love you too Arthur." Ariadne said, breaking apart.  
"Take this." Arthur said, handing her his loaded red die.  
"It's your totem! I'm not allowed to touch it!" Ariadne exclaimed.  
"If you have this, you might be able to convince me that I'm your fiancé." Arthur said, putting his totem into her hand.  
"Okay." Ariadne nodded, "I love you."  
"I love you too." Arthur leaned in and kissed her again.  
"Goodbye Ariadne." Arthur said.  
"Goodbye Arthur." They hugged as Arthur exited the room.

"Eames?"  
"Yes darling?"  
"I'm ready."  
"Okay love."  
Arthur and Eames hooked themselves up to the machine and drifted to sleep as Ariadne stood there crying.

"Ariadne." Ariadne heard her voice and looked up to see Eames awake.  
"How ... did it go?" Ariadne sputtered for words, tears still streaming from her eyes.  
"Good I guess love. He'll remember everything, he just won't remember you being there." Eames said quietly and hugged her tight.  
"He must really love you." Eames said quietly.  
"Yea." Ariadne said.  
"He's waking up." Eames said, nudging her.

Arthur eyes fluttered open as he gazed around the room, he stared at Ariadne for a moment, and said, "Who are you?"  
"I'm here to hide from Jessica too. I was also an enemy of hers." Ariadne manage to choke out.  
"Oh. I'm Arthur." Arthur stood up and shook her hand.  
"Nice to umm ... meet you." Ariadne muttered. Arthur smiled.

"Soo ... Are you seeing anyone?" Arthur asked Ariadne. Eames was taking a shower, leaving the two to talk.  
"Sort of." Ariadne said and showed him her ring. The ring he had given her. Arthur's face dropped.  
"Does he know where you are now?"  
"Yes."  
"Good." Arthur stared at her for a moment, "So how did you become an enemy of Jessica?"  
"My fiancé was an enemy of her, he got his friend to perform Eradication on him to erase his memories of me, so if she comes looking for him, I'll be safe."  
"He must have loved you very much." Arthur said.  
"Yes, he did." Ariadne replied.

"Eames?" Ariadne asked.  
"Yes darling?" Eames poked his head out of the shower.  
"When can I tell him that he's umm ... my fiancé?"  
"After we get rid of Jessica."  
"Oh. How are we going to do that?"  
"Either kill her or scare her off darling."  
"I would prefer scaring her off."  
"We'll see love." Eames laughed and poked his head back into the shower.


	14. Revenge

"Guys! It's dinner time!" Ariadne yelled from the kitchen. Since neither of the men knew how to cook, it was up to her.  
"Smells good Ariadne." Arthur smiled at her.

As they gathered around to eat Ariadne's home cooked meal, they heard something.  
"Hey boys." All three swirled around to see Jessica standing there, holding a rifle. Jessica had blonde straight hair, tied up in a ponytail, with sea blue eyes. Ariadne could see Arthur falling in love with such a beautiful woman.  
"Hello." Eames said coldly as he took his gun out.  
"You know what I'm here for ..." Jessica purred.  
"Revenge. So you're going to kill us now right?" Arthur asked, no expression on his face.  
"I won't kill you. I'm here to make a deal with you." Jessica paused and turned to Arthur, "If you marry me, I'll leave Eames and that little friend of yours alone."

"He ... can't!" Ariadne choked out.  
"And why would that be?" Jessica turned to face her.  
"Because I'm engaged to him." Ariadne replied. Arthur shot her a questioning look.  
"Aren't these the reasons why there are divorces?" Jessica sneered at her.  
"I don't think so darling." Eames pulled the trigger and shot Jessica. Jessica fell unconscious, soaking her shirt with blood.

"What are we going to do now!" Ariadne said, panicking.  
"We'll go into her mind and perform Eradication and destroy every single memory she ever had, and dump her somewhere far away." Arthur said, opened the suitcase to reveal the Dream Machine.  
"Let's get going then." Ariadne grabbed a needle and stabbed it into her arm.

"So how do we exactly do this?" Ariadne asked.  
"Since she is unconscious and bleeding, the mind will be too busy focused on repairing the wombs, which means no defences. All we need to do is destroy everything."  
"Okay." Ariadne grabbed a shot gun and a few grenades and ran off.

Ariadne came to a cinema, which she went in to. Once she walked in, she saw a movie was playing. Then she saw someone familiar on screen - Arthur, with Jessica. Ariadne realised that this cinema was replaying memories of Jessica's time with Arthur. She decided to stay and watch for a while.

"I love you Jessica." Arthur's voice purred.  
"I love you too honey." Jessica smiled at Arthur. They both kissed. Ariadne's stomach knotted. Then the screen suddenly changed to a different scene.  
"Jessica, we need to break up." Arthur said quietly.  
"Why?" Tears were pouring out of Jessica's eyes.  
"I don't love you anymore." Arthur simply said.  
"What?" Jessica squeaked.  
"I'm sorry." Arthur said.  
"But ... you proposed to me, just last night!"  
Ariadne was speechless. Proposed? Last night?  
"I'm sorry it had to end is way. Goodbye Jessica." Arthur gave Jessica a peck on her forehead before leaving.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" A familiar voice came from behind her. Ariadne turned around to see Jessica standing there.  
"What are you doing here? Eames shot you." Ariadne tightened her grip on her shot gun.  
"This is my subconscious. Just because I was shot doesn't mean I disappear!" Jessica laughed.  
"I know what Arthur did to you. But you shouldn't dwell on your past." Ariadne said quietly.  
"How do you know what it feels like?" Jessica had a knife in her hand, and was coming closer and closer. "Do you know what it's like to lose the person you love?"  
"Yes I do." Ariadne said.  
"Then why are you judging me?" Jessica held up the knife and just as she was about to stab Ariadne. There was a gunfire and Jessica fell to the ground. Standing behind her, was Arthur.

"Are you alright?" Arthur said, running towards her.  
"I'm fine." Ariadne said, "I didn't know you proposed to Jessica."  
"Oh." Arthur looked down, "I was in love with her then, I asked her to marry me, and she said she'd think about it."  
"What made you change your mind?"  
"Cobb told me not to date her. At first I didn't listen to him, but he told me all the deepest, darkest secrets about Jessica that she was hiding from me. After I found out, I broke up with her."  
"Oh." Ariadne said, "Thanks for telling me."  
"No problem. Now we should destroy this place."  
"I agree."


	15. She Tells Him

"We did it love!" Eames gave each of them a hi-five after they woke up.  
"Now we just need to get rid of her... " Arthur said.  
"Just put her body when you next see a house." Ariadne suggested.  
"I'll do that. You guys have a fun time while I'm gone!" Eames said, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'm just going to do some dreaming." Ariadne said.  
"Okay. Sweet dreams." Arthur smiled at her while she jabbed the IV needle into her arm, soon she was asleep.

What would she be doing in there? Arthur though to himself. Well, there's not harm finding out. Arthur quickly pulled up a chair next to Ariadne and put the needle in his arm.

Arthur found himself on a beach. It was sunset. In front of him he could see two people eating ice-cream and laughing. Isn't that Ariadne? He thought to himself. But who is that other man?

Suddenly the man kneeled down and pulled out a ring. Arthur heard him say, "Ariadne, I want our baby to be born into a family with a husband and wife who loves each other. And I love you with all my heart and soul, so Ariadne, will you marry me?"

Arthur walked forward to take a closer look, and realised that the man proposing ... was him. Ariadne looked up and Arthur standing there. She quickly ran towards him as her projection of him slowly faded away.

"Why was I there?" Arthur asked.  
"You're my fiancé." Ariadne said.  
"No I'm not." Arthur was stunned.  
"Yes you are. You asked Eames to perform Eradication on you so if Jessica searched your mind she wouldn't find me and I'd be safe!" Ariadne explained.  
"So that person you were saying you were seeing ... that was me?"  
"Yes. We worked together on the Fischer project." Ariadne said.  
"But that's not possible! After I broke up with Jessica I swore to myself I would never get involved with a co-worker ever again!" Arthur said.  
"I'm pregnant. You knocked me up. After all we've been through, this is how we end?" Ariadne looked up into his eyes asking.  
"I'm sorry ... I just don't believe you." Arthur said quietly.

"I have proof!" Ariadne suddenly said. She took out Arthur's totem and showed to him.  
"_YOU TOOK MY TOTEM_!" Arthur yelled angrily and took the totem from her.  
"No I didn't. You gave it to me just before the Eradication, so I would have a chance of making you believe what I say." Ariadne said.  
"Ariadne ..." Arthur said.  
Just as he was about to answer, they woke up.

"Had some nice dreams darlings?" Eames said, smiling at them.  
"Did you know that Ariadne is my fiancé!" Arthur stood up saying.  
"Yes darling. You asked me to do Eradication on you so Ariadne could be safe."  
"So it's true?" Arthur said, eyes widen.  
"Yes it is." Ariadne walked up to him, and kissed him.


	16. He Remembers

Please review! It means a lot!

* * *

"Do you know what it like to be a lover? A half of whole?" Mal asked Ariadne.  
"Yes." Ariadne answered, "I need to know how to undo Eradication."  
"Why would I tell you?" Mal asked.  
"I want to help Arthur."  
"Arthur ..." Mal paused, "I'll help Arthur."  
"Great!" Ariadne smiled.  
"If you want to undo Eradication, you need to take Arthur to all the special places you two went to together. In a dream or in reality."  
"Thank you." Ariadne said.  
"Anything to help my dear Arthur." Mal said, "I'm glad you finally know what it's like to be a lover, a half of whole."

"I know how to undo Eradication!" Ariadne woke up yelling.  
"You do?" Arthur looked up in surprise.  
"How darling?" Eames asked.  
"I'll tell you later, right now I need to design a dream!" Ariadne quickly opened the suitcase, revealing the Dream Machine, and jabbed an IV needle into her arm. Not long she was asleep, leaving the two men to wonder how she discovered the secret to undoing Eradication.

_Never recreate from your memory, always imagine new places…_ Cobb's voice rang in her head.

"This time we make an exception." Ariadne muttered to herself.

"So a world with all the special places we went to together?" Arthur asked looking at Ariadne.  
"Yep." Ariadne replied.  
"Well what are we waiting for? Do you want your memory back or not darling?" Eames asked Arthur. Arthur just rolled his eyes and smiled.

"This is my apartment." Ariadne said. All three were in a dream, going through the special places Arthur and Ariadne had been to.  
"Do you remember anything love?" Eames asked.  
"I remember ..." Arthur blushed, "Me spending the night here." Eames laughed.  
Ariadne just smiled, "C'mon! Let's keep moving!"

"This is the sofa from the Fischer Project." Arthur said, staring at the place where they had their first kiss.  
"Yep. You kissed me here." Ariadne said.  
"I do remember kissing someone ..." Arthur murmured.

"Remember this place?" Ariadne asked.  
"This is the French restaurant I went to after the Fischer Project ... apparently with you." Arthur said.  
"That's right. Do you remember me being there?" Ariadne asked. Arthur closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.  
"A vague image of you sitting next to me." Arthur opened his eyes saying.  
"That's good enough." Ariadne said.

"This is the beach you proposed to me on." Ariadne said. After going to a few more places after the French restaurant, they had come here.  
"I remember this place ..." Arthur said.

Suddenly there was a bright light, blinding Ariadne and Eames, forcing them to close their eyes.

"Arthur?" Ariadne said, after the bright light had disappeared.  
"Ariadne!" Arthur rushed towards her and gave her a kiss. Ariadne's hands cupped his face and Arthur's hands snaked up her back, keeping her close.  
"I remember you!" Arthur said, grinning from ear to ear.


	17. The Parties

Please review! :)

* * *

"When will our wedding be?" Ariadne asked Arthur. They were back in Paris, lying in Ariadne's bed. Eames had left after Arthur got his memory back and went back to his usual life of drinking and gambling.

"How about next month?" Arthur suggested, "I don't really want a grand wedding, just one with our friends and family."  
"Great! I want to invite a few of my college friends ... and of course Eames, Cobb and Yusuf." Ariadne added.  
"That's fine with me, but shouldn't I meet your friends first?" Arthur asked.  
"I guess so." Ariadne replied, "My friend, Gabby asked me to have lunch with her today, so why don't we get going, and I'll introduce them to you."  
"Great." Arthur smiled.

"Hey guys!" Ariadne said, sitting down next to her friends, "This is my fiancé - Arthur."  
"Hey Arthur!" Gabby said, "I'm Gabby, and this is Kelly and Natalie!"  
"Nice to meet you all!" Arthur smiled and shook each of their hands.  
"I'll go get us some lunch." Arthur whispered to Ariadne, "I'll let you guys talk."

"He is SO sexy!" Gabby said, "Where did you guys meet?"  
"Remember those few weeks I took off school? I was working with him on a project." Ariadne explained.  
"We are coming to your wedding, no matter what!" Kelly giggled.

"I love his hair." Natalie said. All three girls turned to stare at her, then Arthur, and started giggling.  
"Ariadne, you're getting a little chubby. What have you been eating?" Gabby said, noticing her baby bump.  
"Ohh ..." Ariadne said, "I'm sort of umm ... pregnant."  
"Wow. That kid is going to be so cute!" Natalie said, hugging her.  
"Umm ... thanks." Ariadne said, hugging her back.

"Hey guys!" Arthur said, holding a tray with two plates of spaghetti.  
"Hey Arthur!" All four girls said.  
"Soo ... when is the bachelorette party slash bridal shower?" Kelly asked.  
"Next week. Enough time for you guys to start planning stuff?" Ariadne smirked.  
"Duh!" Natalie laughed.  
"So I'm guessing my bachelor party is next week too? I guess I'll call Eames when we get back." Arthur muttered and Ariadne laughed.

A week passed by really quickly, and it was time for the parties.

[Arthur's bachelor party]  
"Where are we going Eames?" Arthur said, blind-folded.  
"You'll see." Cobb and Yusuf said together.  
"Alright! Open your eyes darling!" Eames said. Arthur quickly untied the blind fold and rolled his eyes.  
"A strip club? Why didn't I see that coming?"

"Just admit it! You're having fun!" Cobb said to Arthur, who was drunk.  
"Yea! I love you guys!" Arthur wrapped his arms around Cobb and Eames.  
"These gals are smoking hot, right love?" Eames winked at one of the strippers.  
"Yeaaa..." Arthur mumbled.

"Thank you guys soooo much! I love you, you guys are the besttt!" Arthur said stumbling to the car.  
"Are you okay?" Cobb asked.  
"I'm fineee ..." Arthur mumbled and passed out in the car park.

[Ariadne's bachelorette party/bridal shower]  
"So where are we going?" Ariadne asked.  
"To the hottest dance club in town - Club Fever!" Gabby said.  
"I don't dance, you guys know that." Ariadne said.  
"Which is exactly why we're going there!" Natalie said, dragging her to the car, "C'mon!"

"Can we leave now?" Ariadne asked her friends. She didn't dance and wasn't having any fun at all.

"C'mon Ariadne! Have some fun!" Kelly said, dancing along to the music.

"Yea! Just let yourself go!" Natalie said.

"Fine …" Ariadne muttered and continued dancing.

Soon Ariadne was getting the hang of it and started partying … hard.

"She is having _so _much fun!" Gabby said.

"Yea!" Kelly said, watching her jump on the table, dancing!

"Woah!" Natalie said, taking out Ariadne's phone, "I am _so_ taking a video of this!"

I'm gonna go to the toliet..." Ariadne said, taking on last sip of her Coke before stumbling to the bathroom.

"Where the hell is she?" Kelly asked. It had been ten minutes already.  
"I'll go check on her." Natalie said, walking to the room. Natalie found Ariadne passed out on the bathroom floor, and the three girls carried her home.

"Did you have fun?" Ariadne woke up to the sound of a familiar voice.  
"I guess so." Ariadne yawned and sat up.  
"Seeing the sexy table dance you did, I'm guessing you had fun last night." Arthur smirked and handed her her phone. Ariadne blushed and gave Arthur a friendly shove.

"What's this?" Arthur caught hold of her arm, and saw something strange.  
"What?" Ariadne said, looking at her arm.  
"Ariadne, you've been extracted."


	18. Extracted

"What exactly did you do last night?" Arthur said sternly, "You need to try and remember."  
"Umm ... I think I passed out in the bathroom. Maybe someone drugged my Coke." Ariadne said, blushing.  
"They probably but you under after you passed out." Arthur said, "I'm calling Eames."  
"Why?" Ariadne asked.  
"Because I think the people who extracted from you is probably Cobol Engineering." Ariadne shivered.

"So Ariadne got drunk and was extracted huh?" Eames said.  
"Yep." Arthur said, "I think we should go into Ariadne's subconscious and see if they left any clues."  
"Okay darling."

Arthur designed the dream to be a big library, to make it easier to find information.  
"How typical of you love." Eames said, gazing at the huge library. Arthur rolled his eyes.  
"Ariadne and I will go left, you go right. Meet up here when you're done." Arthur said, taking Ariadne's hand.  
"Sure darling." Eames said wandering right.

Not long, Eames came across a room marked 'Arthur And Me'.  
"No harm checking in here eh?" Eames muttered to himself, walking in the room.

_"And then I kissed him, pulling him into my apartment, undressing ourselves ..."_  
"Ew." Eames muttered and closed a book. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Eames still liked Ariadne. He knew the he should leave her alone, she was already having a baby with Arthur! But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get over her, and flipping through Ariadne's memories of the times she spent with Arthur only made it harder to get over her ...

"This library is huge!" Ariadne exclaimed.  
"Well, this is supposed to be all your memories for your whole life, of course it's huge!" Arthur smirked.  
"Hey! Look over there!" Ariadne pointed to a pile of books on the floor. Ariadne immediately ran over there, Arthur following her.  
"These books are all about Inception and the team ... " Ariadne said.  
"Which means Cobol Engineering are on our tracks." Arthur said, narrowing his eyes, "Let's go!"

"So you're finally here love?" Eames said, waiting at the place where they said they would meet.  
"Cobol Engineering are on our tracks. We got to move." Arthur said, pulling out his gun, and aimed it at Eames and Ariadne before himself.

"What are we going to do?" Ariadne asked, after they woke up.  
"We gonna disappear ... again love." Eames simply said.  
"It will take them a day or two before they find me and Eames. We should get going." Arthur said standing up.  
"Let's catch the next flight to Italy. It's fairly far from here. Plus, I've always wanted to go there." Ariadne said.  
"Of course darling. Let's go."

"It's dangerous to stick together all the time. Eames, you can stay in the hotel a block away from Ariadne and I. Ariadne can be in a different room to me, that way we don't look like we k ow each other."  
"Cool darling. See you tomorrow after breakfast." Eames said, hailing a taxi to the hotel.


	19. Deception

"Where is Eames!" Arthur said, getting impatient. It was almost noon, and Eames still hadn't shown.  
_non je ne regrette rien_ ... Arthur's phone started ringing.  
"Seriously Arthur!" Ariadne just looked at him.

_Meet me in nearby abandoned warehouse.  
Eames_

"What does it say?" Ariadne said, watching Arthur reading the text frowning.  
"Eames wants us to meet him at a nearby warehouse." Arthur said, "Let's go then."

When they got there, nobody was there.  
"Where is Eames?" Ariadne wondered.  
"Let's go inside and wait." Arthur suggested, opening the warehouse door.  
"Hello darlings." Eames said, stepping out of the shadows once they came in. He was holding a gun in his hand, frightening Ariadne.  
"What's with the gun Eames?" Ariadne asked, edging a little closer to Arthur.  
"Shut up." Eames said, pointing the gun to her. Arthur stood in front of her.  
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Arthur yelled.

"Why don't I tell you?" A familiar voice boomed behind Eames ... Browning.  
"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked.  
"Revenge. That company meant everything to me. And you destroyed it." Browning said.  
"What are you going to do to us?" Ariadne squeaked behind Arthur.  
"Kill you." Browning replied, smirking.

Immediately Eames fired his gun, Arthur and Ariadne ducked and sprinted towards the warehouse door and ran outside. Not long, Arthur and Ariadne came to a swarm of people, making it easier to blend in.

"Where are we going?" Ariadne asked.  
"Not back to the hotel. Browning will have spies there. Let's just find a restaurant so we can talk." Arthur said, spotting a little cafe, and starting walking towards it.

"So what's wrong with Eames?" Ariadne asked.  
"Deception." Arthur simply said.  
"What's Deception?"  
"Where someone going into another person subconscious and destroys every idea and memory he ever had, then replacing his old memories with ones they want to put in his brain. It's sort of like brain-washing." Arthur explained, "It's a very complicated procedure."

"What are we going to do?" Ariadne asked, "Is there any way to undo it?"  
"Yes there is." Arthur replied, "If we can recover Eames' strongest emotion, the rest of his memory should come naturally."  
"I'm not following." Ariadne said, confused.  
"You need to kiss Eames." Arthur said, "He is still in love with you, you kissing him will bring back all his memories of you, hopefully that all he needs to remember to help us."  
"Are you okay with it, I mean, me kissing Eames?" Ariadne asked.  
"I don't have a choice." Arthur said.  
"So what are we going to do now?" Ariadne asked.  
"We need to find Browning and Eames."


	20. Everything Goes Wrong

"Where would Browning and Eames be?" Ariadne asked.  
"I'm thinking ... the abandoned warehouse." Arthur replied. Ariadne nodded.

"They're definitely in there." Arthur said, eavesdropping to the conversation between Browning and Eames outside the warehouse.  
"How are we going to do this?" Ariadne whispered.  
"There are only two security guards. We barge in, shoot the guards, you sprint towards Eames and kiss him while I go for Browning."  
"What are we going to do with Browning?"  
"Either Eradication or just simply kill him." Arthur said.

"Ready Ariadne?" Arthur asked, handing her a gun.  
"Ready." Ariadne gave Arthur a weak smile.

_BOOM! _The warehouse's doors flew open, knocking the two guards unconscious. Ariadne sprinted towards Eames and smashed her lips against him, taking him by surprise. Arthur knocked Browning over, taking his gun and pointing it to him.

"Eames?" Ariadne asked, breaking apart.  
"Yes darling?" Eames asked, looking at her. Ariadne threw her arms around him, and Arthur smiled.  
"Good to have you back." Ariadne smiled.  
"Back? Where did I go darling?" Eames asked.  
"You have no idea what happened in the last few hours do you?" Ariadne asked.  
"Nope." Eames replied.

"What are you going to do to me?" Browning asked, as Arthur tied him to a chair.  
"Does it really matter?" Arthur asked, jabbing a needle into Browning's arm, making him fall asleep.  
"I'll eradicate his memories of the whole Fischer project and of course, today. Ariadne, fill Eames in." Arthur, hooking up himself to the machine, falling asleep.

"So that's what happened?" Eames asked after Ariadne told him what happened today.  
"Yes." Ariadne nodded.  
"I'm sorry I tried to shoot you darling." Eames said.  
"It's okay." Ariadne replied, "It's not really your fault."

Suddenly Eames leaned in and pressed his lips against her's for a moment. Ariadne was shocked for a second and immediately pulled away.  
"Eames!" Ariadne yelled angrily and slapped him.  
"What!" Eames asked.  
"You can't just kiss me! I know you like me, but I love Arthur, not you. I'm sorry but, I'm marrying him!" Ariadne said, angrily.

"What happened?" Arthur said suddenly. The two swirled their heads to look at him.  
"Nothing love. I think I might head back to the hotel and get some rest. See you guys tomorrow." Eames quickly hurried outside.

"Let's go." Arthur took Ariadne's hand and began walking outside, "I don't want us to be here when Browning wakes up."  
"Okay." Ariadne mumbled.

"So what happened?" Arthur asked Ariadne. They were at a restaurant near the hotel having dinner.  
"What do you mean what happened?" Ariadne asked.  
"Well, when I woke up, Eames was acting weird and you seemed a bit frustrated." Arthur replied.  
"He kissed me ... when you were asleep, I immediately pulled away and slapped him." Ariadne said, looking down.

At that moment, Arthur's face was expressionless.  
"Arthur?" Ariadne said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."  
"I can't do this anymore." Arthur said quietly, looking down.  
"Do what?" Ariadne asked.  
"I can't ... be with you anymore."  
"W ... What?" Ariadne choked out, tears forming in her eyes.  
"I love you, but I can't keep getting hurt. Eames will always like you, there will always be Cobol Engineering ... I just can't deal with my heart getting broken anymore." Arthur said.  
"I would never hurt you ... and we can always ignore Eames ... but please don't do this ..." Ariadne pleaded, crying.  
"You can't promise Eames won't make another move in the future, you can't promise that our child won't die, you can't promise Cobol Engineering won't hunt us down ." Arthur said, "I can't live like this, I can't keep getting hurt."  
"But what about our child?" Ariadne asked.  
"I'll send you a monthly check covering the expenses of raising it." Arthur said quietly.  
"Don't do this! Think about us, think about our child!" Ariadne cried.  
"Goodbye Ariadne." Arthur gave Ariadne a kiss on her forehead before leaving.


	21. Breakup

The days passed really slowly. Ariadne just lay in bed, flicking her bishop over and over again, praying that this wasn't really happening. Every time the bishop hit the floor, she would cry even harder. Every time the bishop hit the floor, her heart would ache even more.

Arthur sat on the sofa in his new hotel, staring at a picture he and Ariadne took. He would roll his die, and would sigh every time it landed on a six. Reaching for another glass of wine, a tiny tear formed in his eye. Expensive wine wouldn't get Ariadne back. Expensive wine wouldn't make him happy again.

"Ariadne?" Ariadne woke up to the sound of someone knocking in the door. Ariadne quickly bolted towards the door.  
"Arthur!" Ariadne cried and opened the door, only to see Eames standing there. Ariadne's face dropped.  
"What do you want?" Ariadne said coldly.  
"I'm sorry for kissing you Ariadne, I should have known better." Eames said, "Will you forgive me?"  
"No." Ariadne said coldly, closing the door.  
"Please." Eames kept the door opened, pleading.  
"No! Don't you get it! That little kiss you gave me, made Arthur breakup with me! Now I'm _devastated_ and it's all _YOUR_ fault!" Ariadne screamed.  
Eames was speechless for a moment. "I never knew that would happen, I'm so sorry, I'll help you get him back."  
"Good luck with that." Ariadne scowled, closing the door and continued to flick the bishop and cry.

"Good morning sir how may I help you?"  
"One ticket to San Francisco please. First class." Arthur said, handing the girl his credit card.  
"Here you go sir." The girl said, handing him his credit card back with his ticket.  
"Thanks." Arthur gave her a weak smile and walked off. He needed to get out of this place.

"Where the hell is Arthur!" Eames yelled, frustrated. He had looked everywhere over Italy and no sign of Arthur. He decided to ring Cobb.

"Hey Cobb."  
"What's wrong Eames? The last time I heard from you was when Jessica came back, is everything all right now?" Cobb asked.  
"Yes we took care of her, but there's something way worse than that happening now darling." Eames said sternly.  
"What?" Cobb sounded anxious over the phone.  
"Arthur and Ariadne broke up."  
"What?" Cobb was shocked, "How could that have happened!"  
"We were in Italy and I may have ... kissed Ariadne." Eames mumbled.  
"I can't believe you did that! What the hell is wrong with you!" Cobb yelled.  
"That's not the point. The point is that Arthur disappeared off the face of the earth, and I can't find him. Can you help me find him?" Eames asked.  
"I'll do my best. Bye Eames." Cobb said.  
"Bye."

15:00. it was three and Ariadne was still in bed. She reached for the phone next to her and ordered room service - again. Since the breakup, Ariadne hadn't left her bed. Still flicking her bishop, still crying.

_I can't live like this forever. _Ariadne thought to herself, and dragged herself out of bed, and took a shower.  
"Ariadne?" A familiar voice came from behind the door. Eames again.  
"Uggg..." Ariadne sighed and opened the door.  
"I can't find Arthur. It's like he disappeared off the face of the earth." Eames said,  
"Very helpful." Ariadne scowled.  
"I think he left the country. Maybe you should go back to Paris and finish your studies." Eames suggested.  
"Why do you care about what I do with my life? You ruined it anyway! How am I going to raise this baby?" Ariadne said, angrily, slamming the door, cried.

"What's wrong Ariadne? Why are you so sad?" Kelly asked. Ariadne's three friends were in Ariadne's room in Paris, comforting her.  
"I don't want to talk about it." Ariadne said.  
"You haven't been going to any of the lectures, and you haven't been answering your phone. Something is up. You can tell us, we're your best friends." Gabby said.  
"Arthur ... broke up with me ..." Ariadne burst into tears.  
"What happened?" Natalie asked hugging her.  
"Theres this guy Arthur and I know ... he kissed me when Arthur ... was asleep ... I told Arthur and ... he broke up with me ... he said he can't keep getting his heart ... broken ..." Ariadne said, crying.  
"It's okay. You'll be okay." Kelly said, hugging her.

"How many people will be dining here tonight?" The waiter asked.  
"Two ... I mean one." Arthur mumbled.  
"Right this way." The waiter lead him to his table.  
"Here you are." The waiter said, pointing to a table with only one chair.  
"Thanks." Arthur said, sitting down.

Arthur looked across his table, half expecting Ariadne to be sitting there smiling at him. He saw a young couple sit down next to him. They smiled at each other, laughing.

_I used to be like that._ Arthur thought to himself._ I used to be that happy._


	22. Operation ArthurAriadne

"Arthur?" Cobb asked over the phone.  
"Yes?" Arthur asked.  
"I want you to come to my party for my kids, it's at my house next week. Can you come?" Cobb asked.  
"I'll be there." Arthur mumbled and hung up.  
Cobb smiled to himself, time for step two.

"Yea I'll come to your party." Ariadne replied.  
"Great! See you there!" Cobb said excitedly and hung up.

Ariadne arrived just on time, she knocked on Cobb's door, but there was no answer.  
"Cobb?" Ariadne asked, ringing the door bell. Then she froze, because walking over to Cobb's house ... was Arthur.

_What am I going to do? _Ariadne thought to herself anxiously as Arthur recognized her. He froze for a moment, turned around and began walking away.

"Arthur!" Ariadne managed to choke out.  
"Yes?" Arthur turned around and walked briskly towards her.  
"I ... I want you back ... I miss you ..." Ariadne stammered, "Can we ... be together ... again?"  
"No." Arthur said. Tears formed in Ariadne's eyes.  
"Ariadne ..." Arthur began, "I miss you like hell, I really do. But do you know what hurts more than this? The feeling of heart brokenness you get when you get hurt. That feeling you get when you find out your friend kissed your fiancé. That feeling you get when you're in a relationship, knowing that all those problems will be there. I can't live like that. I'm sorry."  
"But ... I love you ..." Ariadne stumbled for words.  
"I'm so sorry." Arthur said quietly, and walked away, leaving Ariadne in tears.

Cobb watched silently from the window. Mission failed.

"Arthur?" Cobb said, over the phone.  
"What?" Arthur asked.  
"Meet me at my house. It's really important."  
"This better not be another set up with Ariadne." Arthur said, hanging up.

"So what did you want me for?" Arthur said, sitting down Cobb's house.  
"What's up with you and Ariadne?" Cobb asked.  
"Why are you so interested?" Arthur sighed.  
"Just tell me."  
"We broke up okay? What else do you need to know?" Arthur said, getting slightly mad.  
"Why did you break up with her?" Cobb asked.  
"Shut up." Arthur said, looking down.  
"You still care about her." Cobb said calmly.  
"So?" Arthur muttered.  
"Then get her back." Cobb said.  
"Is there a purpose to this conversation?" Arthur asked.  
"You guys were great together. And she obviously misses you. So what are you waiting for?" Cobb asked.  
"Stop trying to get me back together with Ariadne! Stay out of my life!" Arthur said, storming out of the house.


	23. Rescue

_Ding dong ding dong!_ Ariadne's door bell began ringing.  
"Coming!" Ariadne opened the door, praying it was Arthur.  
"Surprise." And Ariadne fell to the ground unconscious.

_non je ne regrette rien ..._ Arthur's cell phone began ringing.  
"Hello?" Arthur asked.  
"We have your little teammate here. Come and get her if you want."  
"Where is she!" Arthur yelled.  
"The warehouse. We'll be waiting for you."  
Arthur immediately hung up and grabbed his gun.

Arthur arrived at the warehouse in Paris, and walked in, gripping on to his gun. In front of him, stood Naomi pointing a gun to Ariadne, who was tied to a chair, with a cloth in her mouth, making her unable to speak.

"I see you came." Naomi said, sneering.  
"What do you want?" Arthur said. His heart ached seeing Ariadne tied to that chair.  
"You. Turn yourself in to Cobol Engineering, and we'll let your little friend here go.". Naomi said.  
"And if I don't?" Arthur asked.  
"She dies."  
"If I do this, how can I be sure you'll let her go?" Arthur asked, looking at Ariadne.  
"I will." Naomi smirked.  
"Fine." Arthur said, "I'll do it." Arthur saw the pain in Ariadne's eyes, but ignored it.  
"Perfect." Naomi, motioning guards to handcuff him.  
"Let her go first." Arthur said sternly.  
"No." Naomi sneered, as one of the guards handcuffed him.

"_NO!_" Arthur yelled and kicked the guard, the guard fell to the floor in pain. Naomi pointed her gun to Arthur and fired. Arthur immediately turned around and the bullet hit the chain of his handcuffs, causing the handcuffs to break.  
"Thank you." Arthur said, picking up his gun and fired the guards.

"Cobol Engineering won't rest until they find you." Naomi said, sneering.  
"Then I guess it doesn't really matter if I kill you then." Arthur said, and shot her.

Arthur ran to Ariadne, untying her.  
"Arthur!" Ariadne cried and wrapped her arms around him.  
"I'm glad you're alive!" Arthur said smiling, and kissed her.  
"I didn't realize how much I really missed you until today." Arthur said, breaking apart, "I want you back."  
"You got me back." Ariadne said, grinning, and kissed him again.


	24. Everything's Good

Thanks for reviewing! it means a lot! :)

* * *

"I'm nervous." Ariadne whispered to Arthur.  
"There's nothing to be worried about." Arthur said smiling.

"Hello. I'm your ultra sound doctor for today. My name is Dr. Conner." A young man approached them in the waiting room.  
"Nice to meet you." Arthur said, shaking his hand.  
"Let's go inside shall we?" Dr. Conner smiled, Ariadne nodded and walked inside with Arthur.

"This is your baby." Dr. Conner said, pointing to the screen. Arthur held Ariadne's hand, gazing at the screen.  
"These are the legs, here are the arms and this is the head." Dr. Conner explained. Ariadne nodded.  
"Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" Dr. Conner asked.  
"Yes please." Arthur replied. Ariadne squeezed his hand.

"It's a girl." Dr. Conner said, smiling, "Congratulations!"  
"It's a girl!" Ariadne cried, tears forming in her eyes.  
"Are you alright Ariadne?" Arthur asked, kissing her forehead.  
"I've always wanted a girl." Ariadne looked up at Arthur and smiled, tears streaming in her eyes. Tears of joy.  
"Well I'm glad." Arthur smiled and kissed her.

"What would you like to name the baby?" Arthur asked. They were walking home, since Ariadne's apartment was very near the clinic.  
"I like the name Sabella." Ariadne said, holding his hand.  
"Sabella, unusual and unique ... I like it." Arthur said, grinning, "Sabella it is."

"When do you want to move? I didn't but that house for nothing!" Arthur said, smirking.  
"Next week?" Ariadne suggested, "I need time to get ready."  
"Okay." Arthur said.

_Ding Dong Ding Dong!_ Ariadne's door bell began ringing.  
"I'll get it." Arthur said and opened the door.  
"Hey." Eames said, looking down.  
"What?" Arthur said coldly.  
"I need to talk to you ... alone." Eames said.  
"Fine." Arthur said, "Ariadne I'll be right back!" Ariadne nodded as Arthur left her apartment.

"Look ... I'm really sorry I kissed Ariadne." Eames said, "It would happen again."  
"It better not." Arthur replied.  
"So ... how did you guys get back together?" Eames asked awkwardly.  
"Naomi kidnapped Ariadne, so I went after her. It made me realise that I couldn't live without her. I asked her to take me back and she did." Arthur said.  
"Naomi?" Eames asked. Arthur nodded.  
"See this is why I don't think you guys should be together!" Eames suddenly said.  
"What!" Arthur said, fuming.  
"You have a death sentence over your head. Do you really think Cobol Engineering won't come after you? If you're in danger, Ariadne's in danger." Eames said, looking straight into his eyes, "You're putting her in danger."  
"I can't just leave her! She's having a baby, my baby! I need to be there for her, and the baby!" Arthur yelled.  
"Fine. Just keep her safe." Eames said.  
"Duh." Arthur said.  
"I'm really sorry I broke you guys up. You two are in love." Eames said, looking down.  
"It's okay ... I guess." Arthur simply said.  
"Will we ever be friends again?" Eames asked.  
"Yea." Arthur smiled, "But if you kiss her again I swear I'll ..."  
"It's okay, I won't ... darling." Eames smiled.

"What is he doing here?" Ariadne asked after Arthur came back.  
"It's okay Ariadne, we're good now." Arthur said, walking into Ariadne's apartment, leaving Ariadne and Eames standing outside in the corridor.  
"If Arthur's not mad, then I guess we're fine too." Ariadne said, no emotion in her voice.  
"Can I get a hug then?" Eames asked, pouting. Ariadne laughed and hugged him.  
"Goodbye Eames." Ariadne said, closing the door.  
"Goodbye Ariadne."


	25. The Perfect Day

"You shouldn't be unpacking those boxes, let me help you." Arthur said, seeing Ariadne sweating.  
"They're my stuff. I should be the one unpacking." Ariadne replied.  
"But you're pregnant. Take a break, let me help you." Arthur said, motioning her to sit down.  
"Thanks." Ariadne said, smiling.  
"No problem." Arthur said, smiling back.

"I want to take you somewhere today." Arthur said.  
"Where?" Ariadne asked, slightly excited.  
"You'll see." Arthur said, smirking, "Let's go."

"A plane?" Ariadne said, staring at Arthur's private jet, "You have a plane?"  
"I have some left over money." Arthur shrugged.  
"Where are we going?" Ariadne said, excitedly.  
"We're almost there." Arthur said, grinning.

"Berlin!" Ariadne practically screamed, "I've always wanted to go to Berlin!" Arthur smiled.

"They're architecture here is amazing!" Ariadne gasped, "See the Brandenburg Gate!"  
"The Brandenburg Gate's design has remained essentially unchanged since its completion even as it has played different political roles in German history." Arthur said. Ariadne nodded.  
"This is why I love architecture." Ariadne said, "It's just pure creation ..."  
"There's nothing quite like it." Arthur finished. Ariadne smiled as they kissed.

"This is the Charlottenburg Palace." Arthur said, "The palace includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles."  
"Gorgeous." Ariadne said, staring at the palace.

"This is the Reichstag building!" Ariadne exclaimed, "It is the traditional seat of the German Parliament, renovated in the 1950s after severe World War II damage. The building was again remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s!"  
"You've certainly done your homework." Arthur grinned.

"This is the Gendarmenmark." Arthur said.  
"The square was created by Johann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the Linden-Markt and reconstructed by Georg Christian Ungerin 1773." Ariadne added.  
"What do you think?" Arthur asked.  
"It's absolutely stunning." Ariadne replied, smiling at him.

"What did you want to show me here?" Ariadne asked.  
"This is the Spree river." Arthur said, holding Ariadne's hand, "It's one of my favourite places in the world. It breath-taking, especially at night."  
"I totally agree with you." Ariadne said, gazing at the river, "It's beautiful."  
"I sometimes come here to forget my troubles." Arthur said, "This river calms me down."  
"Thank you for taking me here." Ariadne said, "Today was perfect."  
"I'm glad you like it." Arthur replied, and kissed her.

* * *

I've never been to Berlin, I found all the information online, so if i get some of the info wrong, my apologizes!


	26. The Letter

"Today was perfect!" Ariadne said, flopping on her new bed in her new house.  
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Arthur said, smiling, "Now go to sleep."  
"Goodnight." Ariadne whispered.  
"Goodnight." Arthur replied and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Good morning Arthur." Ariadne said, yawning.  
"Arthur?" Ariadne rolled over, only to find a letter.

_Dear Ariadne,_  
_You looked absolutely gorgeous today. I'm going to remember what you looked like forever. And I hope you remember me the same way. I'm glad our last time together was blissful._

_But I'm leaving tonight, and this time it's for good. I don't know if I'll ever see you again. The thing is, Ariadne, that everyone is a little bit right. Added up all together, it makes this big one right._

_Naomi's a little bit right about how Cobol Engineering won't rest until they hunt me down. Eames is a little bit right about how me being with you is putting you in danger._

_I remember when I first met you. I remember how my heart skipped a beat when you walked in the warehouse. I remember me teaching you about paradoxical architecture. I remember me being amazed at how talented you are. I remember me stealing that kiss from you. I remember proposing to you. I remember you saying yes._

_The thing is, Ariadne, I love you. I can't help but be focused on you when we're together. If you're in the room, I want to be next to you. If you're gone, I think about you. You're the one I want to talk to. When we're together, the sun is shining. When we're apart, everything is in shades of gray._

_I hope you'll forgive me someday for turning our worlds into shades of gray – at least for a while._

_But the more I thought about it, the more sure I get that this is the right thing to do. Maybe not for me, but for you._

_Please don't try to find me. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and seeing you again will only make it harder. You'd ask me to come back, and I would, because I can't say no to you. But all the same problems would still be there, and I'd end up leaving again, and then we'd have to go through this all over again._

_Please make us go through this only once._

_I love you. I love your smile, your scowl, your grin, your face when you're sleeping. I love the way you look when you're thinking. I love you laugh, I love your creativity. I love your eyes, whether they're cold or calculating or sad or laughing or warm, like when you look at me. I love everything about you._

_You're the most amazing architect I know. You're the most comforting girl I've ever met. You've made me happy when I'm sad and you're there for me, in good times and bad. You're my best friend, my first and only true love, and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen._

_Tell you what honey, if I manage to score things with Cobol Engineering, I'll meet you in the warehouse in Paris, where we first met. If I'm still alive, I'll be there waiting for you. You can bet on it._

_Goodbye my love,_  
_Arthur_

Tears rolled down Ariadne's cheeks when she read this, making some of the worse smudge. But she didn't care. All she cared about right now was Arthur.

* * *

This letter was originally from the book Maximum Ride - Fang. I just changed some of the lines.


	27. Mombasa

"Eames?" Ariadne asked over the phone.  
"Yes darling?" Eames replied.  
"Come over _NOW_!" Ariadne said, hanging up.

"Wassup?" Eames said, sitting in the living room.  
"Arthur left." Ariadne said.  
"_Again_!" Eames said, stunned, "Why?"  
"Read this." Ariadne handed him Arthur's letter.  
"Wow." Eames said after reading the letter.  
"I know." Ariadne said, "Where do you think he would be?"  
"Mombasa." Eames said, "Cobol's backyard."  
"Let's go then." Ariadne said, grabbing her bag.  
"Wait." Eames said, blocking her from the door, "Why are you going to find Arthur? He specifically told you not to."  
"I know. But he doesn't need to leave me, we can take down Cobol Engineering together." Ariadne said.  
"He has a death sentence over his head Ariadne, let him be." Eames said, calmly.  
"No." Ariadne looked up in his eyes, "Let me go."  
Eames sighed and stepped aside as Ariadne went out the door.

"Wait! I'm coming with you darling!" Eames yelled as Ariadne ran to hail a cab.  
"No. I can handle this by myself." Ariadne hopped into a cab, leaving Eames standing in front of her house.

"You're turning yourself in?" A voice asked. Arthur nodded.  
"We won't kill you, don't worry. We only terminated Nash because he was quite useless. But you, Arthur, have great talent, so we'll spare you ... on one condition."  
"What is that?" Arthur asked.  
"You must continue working for us."  
"Fine." Arthur sighed.  
"We have a mission for you."  
"Now?" Arthur asked.  
"Yes. It's a simple extraction job, shouldn't be too hard."  
"Who's the mark?"  
"It's a young college student, Ariadne Jones. She is rumored to had performed inception with Dominic Cobb. I need you to find out if that is true."  
"If she did ... work with Cobb ... what would you do to her?" Arthur asked nervously. He didn't want anything to happen to Ariadne.  
"Terminate her." The voice paused, "You have 72 hours to make your decision. If you choose to accept the job, and succeed, you won't die. If you don't accept the job offer, you will be terminated. The choice is yours."

"Where would Arthur be?" Ariadne muttered to herself, walking along the busy streets of Mombasa. Suddenly she saw a man sitting in a cafe, wearing a three piece suite with slicked back hair, burying his head in his hands.  
"Arthur!" Ariadne yelled and ran towards him. Arthur saw her and immediately began walking away really quickly, but Ariadne continued to run towards him.  
"Shhh..." Arthur whispered when Ariadne was just about to hug him.  
"What?" Ariadne whispered back.  
"Cobol's after you." Arthur said quietly. Ariadne shivered. "Follow me."

"What are we going to do?" Ariadne asked, once they were in Arthur's hotel room.  
"Take down the head of Cobol." Arthur replied.  
"Jessica's dad?" Ariadne asked. Arthur nodded.  
"Exactly how are we going to do that?" Ariadne asked.  
"I have no idea."

"Eradication?" Ariadne suggested.  
Arthur shook his head, "His subconscious will be militarised, no doubt about it. Plus, security will be all over the place, you can't defend me while I eradicate his memories."  
"What are we going to do then?" Ariadne asked.  
"Kill him." Arthur said solemnly.  
"How does that destroy Cobol Engineering?" Ariadne asked.  
"The only flaw Cobol Engineering has is that there's only one headquarter. We take down the head of Cobol, the company will crumble." Arthur said.  
"And how are we going to do that?"  
"I'm working for them. I can always talk to Jessica's dad. But there's security all over the place ..." Arthur's voice trailed off.  
"Wait ..." Ariadne said, "I know exactly what to do ... but we're gonna need Eames and Yusuf."


	28. Taking Down Cobol

Eames and Yusuf walked swiftly towards a tall building, guns and grenades tucked underneath their jackets.  
"Do you have any entry passes?" A security guard asked them at the entrance.  
"No. But we have a letter from the head." Eames said, handing him the letter. The letter he wrote.  
"Okay." The security guard opened the door, letting them in.

"So ... that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Arthur said.  
"I am impressed." Jessica's dad, Stephen replied, "I'm glad to have you back on the team."  
"Me too." Arthur said, "But there's also something else I want to tell you."

"You head left, I'll head right. See ya later darling!" Eames said.  
Yusuf walked casually down the corridor, stopping at a room marked 'Control Room'.  
Eames walked quietly along the corridor, preparing for his big move.

Ariadne sat down on a bench opposite the building, ten grenades hidden in her bag. She quietly sneaked behind the building, taping the grenades onto the building.

"Hello." The guards to the control room swirled around in surprise. Yusuf pointed his gun at them and aimed. Other guards heard the gunshot and began to run to the control room. Eames immediately took a grenade and threw it at the guards. The grenade exploded, making more and more guards come running to Eames.

"What's happening!" Stephen yelled, staring at the monitor.  
"Why don't I tell you?" Arthur held up his gun and pointed it at him.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Stephen said, calmly, pointing his gun at Arthur.

Yusuf stood in the control room, looking at the monitors. Eames was keeping everything under control ... but Arthur had a problem. He immediately cut the power of the room, causing the lights to switch off.

"What the -" Stephen began, but fell to the ground as Arthur shot him.

Ariadne looked at her watch. It was time. She immediately took out her brightest flash light, and flashed it two times in the windows. Then she pressed a button and ran.

"We gotta go Yusuf!" Eames said, dragging Yusuf out of the building.  
Arthur immediately sprinted along the corridor and down the steps.

BOOM! The building exploded and collapsed just as Eames and Yusuf escaped.  
"Eames! Yusuf!" Ariadne ran to them and wrapped her arms around them.  
"Where's Arthur?" Ariadne asked. Eames' face was expressionless. A tear rolled down Ariadne's cheek.

"Ariadne ..." Ariadne heard a faint voice and looked. Arthur was standing behind Eames, face full of blood, his three piece suit stained with blood and dust. His hair was no longer slicked back, it was messy and full of blood.  
"Arthur!" Ariadne ran and hugged him.

"I love you …" suddenly Arthur collapsed.  
"We need an ambulance quick!" Eames said, dialling 911.


	29. In Hospital

"How is he?" Ariadne sat anxiously in the waiting room, asking one of the doctors.  
"He has lost a lot of blood. He might not make it." The doctor said.  
"Oh." Tears streamed down Ariadne's face as the doctor left.

"Don't worry Ariadne, he'll be okay." Eames said, hugging her.  
"You don't know that." Ariadne whispered.  
"I do." Eames replied, "Arthur's a very strong man."

"Miss Jones," A doctor began, "Your fiancé is in a stable condition, but he has a lot of broken bones, please be careful when you see him."  
"Okay." Ariadne said, walking in Arthur's hospital room.

"Hey." Arthur mumbled from the hospital bed. His arms and leg a were covered in white plaster, and his head had a huge bandage covering most of his forehead. Ariadne's heart ached seeing him like this.  
"Hi." Ariadne said, giving him a light peck on his forehead, "How do you feel?"  
"I feel horrible." He replied, "I can't even move without crying out in pain."  
"I'm so sorry." Ariadne said, another tear rolled down her cheek.  
"It's not your fault." Arthur said.

"Miss Jones, you have to leave now, visiting hours are over." A nurse came in, interrupting their conversation.  
"Okay." Ariadne gave Arthur one last kiss, "I'll be back tomorrow. Goodbye."  
"Goodbye." Arthur murmured.

"How do you feel?" Ariadne asked Arthur, she was sitting next to him in the hospital.  
"A lot better." Arthur said, smiling at her  
"I'm glad." Ariadne said.  
"The doctor said that I can't leave for at least another month." Arthur said. Ariadne face dropped.  
"Oh." Was all Ariadne could say.  
"I'm so sorry, you have to wait another month before we get married." Arthur said, quietly.  
"It's okay." Ariadne said, stroking his hair.

"One more month before the baby comes ..." Ariadne said, "Are we ready?"  
"Of course we are!" Arthur said, "You'll be a great mum."  
"Thanks!" Ariadne said, "But I won't get to finish college."  
"Go back to Paris Ariadne," Arthur said, "You only have one month before you graduate. Eames can take care of me here."  
"I'm not leaving you Arthur, especially when you're in hospital!" Ariadne exclaimed.  
"Go. I want you to finish your studies. Do it for me ... please." Arthur gazed into her eyes.  
"Fine." Ariadne sighed.  
"Great!" Arthur grinned, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."  
"Goodbye Arthur. I love you." Ariadne kissed Arthur.  
"I love you too." Arthur said, breaking apart.

"How ya feeling darling?" Eames asked him. Ariadne had gone back to Paris to finish her studies, leaving Eames to take care of Arthur.  
"I feel like crap." Arthur groaned.  
"What do you mean?" Eames asked, "You just told Ariadne that you were a lot better."  
"I lied." Arthur replied, "I didn't want her to worry."  
"So is there anything else that you lied about darling?" Eames asked jokingly.  
"Actually, there is." Arthur said, Eames immediately became serious.  
"What?" Eames asked.  
"I'm dying." Arthur said quietly.  
"What!" Eames gasped.  
"The doctor said I need a heart transplant, apparently the explosion somehow put holes in my heart."  
"How long do you have?" Eames asked.  
"Two weeks."


	30. Heart Transplant

"Two weeks!" Eames breathed, "How is that enough time for you to find a heart!"  
"I know." Arthur said quietly.  
"What are you going to do then?" Eames asked.  
"I don't know." Arthur said, looking down.  
"Bloody hell." Eames muttered.

"Good to have you back Ariadne!" Professor Miles said, greeting her.  
"Thanks." Ariadne said.  
"How are things?" Professor Miles said.  
"Great. I'm actually umm ... engaged to Arthur." Ariadne said.  
"Arthur eh?" Professor Miles said smiling, "I can't really imagine Arthur engaged to anyone." Ariadne laughed.

"How are we going to find a heart?" Eames muttered to himself, walking around Arthur's room.  
"Don't ask me." Arthur said under his breath.  
"We could always kill someone or ..." Eames said, thinking.  
"There's no use." Arthur said, "Can't you see? I'm going to die here."  
"Trust me, you won't darling. I'll find a way." Eames said.

"It's so good to have you back!" Gabby exclaimed, hugging Ariadne.  
"Thanks guys!" Ariadne said, smiling.  
"How's it going with you and Arthur?" Natalie asked, curiously.  
"Great." Ariadne said.  
"How many months are you?" Kelly asked, staring at her tummy.  
"Eight." Ariadne said, "I'm going to be a mum in one month!"

"Saito?" Eames asked over the phone.  
"Yes Eames? I believe the last time we spoke was during the Fischer project, has something happened?" Saito asked.  
"I need a favour." Eames said.  
"Anything." Saito said.  
"I need a heart."  
"A human heart? Why?" Saito asked.  
"Arthur needs a heart transplant."  
"I see ... I'll try and find one as soon as possible." Saito said.  
"Thank you Saito." Eames said.  
"No problem."

"Ariadne?" Professor Miles called her.  
"Yes?" Ariadne asked.  
"You have done so well in your studies, that the college and I have decided to let you graduate 3 weeks earlier!"  
"That's terrific!" Ariadne said, grinning.

"I have found a heart for ya, darling!" Eames walked into Arthur's hospital room, announcing proudly.  
"What?" Arthur asked, stunned.  
"I rang Saito to ask him for help. An hour ago Saito's nephew died, they're sending the heart over right now. Get ready for your operation!"  
"Wow. Thanks Eames!" Arthur said, smiling at him.

Ariadne's graduation wasn't grand, she just invited her family and a few of her college friends. After that, Ariadne said goodbye to her friends and family and was on the next plane to Mombasa.

"Good luck!" Eames said, waving as the doctors pushed Arthur in the operation room. Arthur smiled weakly.

"Hello, I'm here to visit Arthur John." Ariadne said to the receptionist at the hospital. Arthur had told her that he had registered under a fake name.  
"Sorry Miss Jones, Mr. John is undergoing an operation right now. Would you care to wait in the waiting room?"  
Operation? Ariadne wondered, he was completely fine when she left ...  
"Darling!" Ariadne turned around to see Eames standing there, motioning her to come wait with him.

"I didn't know Arthur needed an operation!" Ariadne said, "Spill your secret."  
"Arthur lied to you about being fine, The explosion somehow put holes in his heart, he needs a heart transplant." Eames said.  
"Why would he do that?" Ariadne asked him.  
"He loves you, he didn't want you to worry." Eames said.  
"Oh. So how did he get the heart?" Ariadne asked.  
"Saito's nephew died." Eames simply replied.  
"How long has he been in there?" Ariadne asked.  
"About 3 hours." Eames said, putting his ran around her, "But don't worry, he'll be fine."

"Miss Jones?" A doctor asked.  
"Yes?" Ariadne asked.  
"Mr. John is doing very well, he is in his room resting, but please do not disturb him." The doctor said.  
"Thanks." Ariadne's eyes were filled with tears of joy, as she said goodbye to the doctor.  
"He's okay!" Ariadne screamed and threw her arms around Eames, crying.  
"Told ya so." Eames said, winking.

"How are you feeling?" Ariadne said. Arthur looked up in surprise.  
"Ariadne! What are you doing here?"  
"I graduated 3 weeks early." Ariadne said.  
"That's great! Congratulations!" Arthur said, smiling.  
"How are you feeling?" Ariadne asked again, "Tell me the truth this time."  
"I see Eames told you." Arthur said quietly.  
"Why did you lie to me?" Ariadne asked, sitting next to him.  
"If I told you, you would get worried and insist on staying here, and I wanted you to finish your studies. Plus, I love you too much to break bad news to you." Arthur said, "If it makes any difference I'm sorry for lying."  
"It's okay." Ariadne said, leaning over to kiss him.  
"I'm feeling great, just a little tired. I'm telling the truth this time!" Arthur said jokingly.  
"You better be." Ariadne said, smirking, and kissed him again.


	31. Fischer

"Our wedding is going to be in two weeks!" Ariadne squealed.  
"I'm glad you're excited." Arthur smiled.  
"Who wouldn't? Getting married to the perfect guy is every girl's dream." Ariadne said, leaning in for a kiss.  
"So I'm a perfect guy huh?" Arthur breathed.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Ariadne smirked, and kissed him.

"Is that who I think it is?" Ariadne said, breaking apart, gesturing to the man across the cafe.  
"Oh no." Arthur said, "We should go."  
"Why?" Ariadne asked, glancing at the man, "Just because Fischer's here doesn't mean he will recognize us!"  
"Well, I'm not willing to take that chance." Arthur said, getting up.

"Excuse me." Fischer said, walking over.  
"Crap." Arthur muttered under his breath.  
"Do I know you guys? You look very familiar." Fischer said, gazing at Ariadne and Arthur.  
"No, you don't know us." Arthur said, grabbing Ariadne's hand.  
"Let me take you out to dinner." Fischer said.  
"That wouldn't be necessary." Arthur said.  
"I insist." Fischer said, staring in his eyes.  
"If you excuse us, we have to go." Arthur said, "Nice to meet you."  
"Nice to meet you too." Fischer replied, shaking his hand.  
"Let's go." Arthur murmured to Ariadne, giving Fischer a quick nod before heading out the door.

"That was close." Ariadne whispered to Arthur on the way out.  
"Yea." Arthur said, "Don't go back there for a while."  
"Okay."

"Hey Ariadne!" Gabby said over the phone.  
"Hey! What's up?" Ariadne asked.  
"Kelly, Natalie and I were planning to go have lunch at that little cafe down the street. Do ya wanna come?" Gabby asked eagerly.

_Don't go back there for a while_, Arthur's voice rang through her head.

"Nah I don't think I should go ... I'm kinda ... busy ..." Ariadne said.  
"Please ..." Gabby pleaded, "We really want you to go."  
"I can't. I'm sorry." Ariadne said.  
"Please? It would mean a lot to me. Please ..." Gabby begged over the phone.  
_Fischer's not going to be waiting for me everyday_, Ariadne thought to herself. "Fine I'll go."  
"Great! See you there! Bye!"

"Hey!" Ariadne said, seeing her friends.  
"Hey!" They all replied.  
"Sooo ... when's the wedding?" Kelly asked.  
"Two weeks from now." Ariadne said, grinning.  
"I'm already excited!" Natalie giggled.  
"Hey, check out that hot guy over there." Gabby whispered and pointed to the left. As the girls slowly turned their heads around, Ariadne swore under her breath, because standing there, was Fischer.

"Umm ... guys ... I have to go to the ... toilet ... be right back ..." Ariadne's voice became shaky as she left her friends and ran to the bathroom. _I shouldn't have done this_, Ariadne thought, _this was a bad idea_.

"Hello." Ariadne froze just before she walked into the bathroom.  
"Hi." Ariadne turned around to face Fischer.  
"When would ... you and your friend like to have dinner with me?" Fischer said, smirking.  
"Actually, he's my fiancé, and no, we can't have dinner with you." Ariadne replied.  
"Why?" Fischer's face dropped.  
"We are moving to ... Canada next week, lots of stuff to pack." Ariadne gave Fischer a weak smiled.  
"Just one dinner." Fischer said, smiling.  
"No thank you." Ariadne replied.  
"Please? I insist." Fischer pleaded.  
"Fine." Ariadne sighed.  
"Great. Tomorrow 7o'clock, here. I'll drive you guys." Fischer said, winking, "Bye."  
"Bye." Ariadne saw Fischer leaving, "Crap."

_Now I will finally find out who these people are_, Fischer smiled to himself smugly, and left the cafe.

"Bad news." Ariadne said, flopping on the bed.  
"What?" Arthur asked, lying next to her.  
"Gabby forced me to go have lunch with her in that cafe and I ran into Fischer." Ariadne said.  
"And?" Arthur asked.  
"We're having dinner with him tomorrow night." Ariadne buried her face in a pillow, "I'm sorry."  
"It's okay." Arthur said, "What's the worst that could happen?"  
"Thanks." Ariadne said, smiling.  
"For what?" Arthur asked.  
"No getting mad." Ariadne said, and leaned in for a kiss.

"What are I going to wear?" Ariadne asked, walking out of the bathroom, and froze.  
"What?" Arthur said, seeing Ariadne's shocked face.  
"Your ... your ... hair ..." Ariadne said, "It's not ... slicked back."  
"I know." Arthur said, "We need Fischer not to recognize us, so we have to change how we look as much as possible."  
"You look so different..." Ariadne said, smirking, "This is the first time I have seen you without slicked back hair, I can't even recognize you."  
"Do you like it?" Arthur asked, jokingly.  
"Of course I do." Ariadne leaned in for a kiss.


	32. The Dinner

Thanks everyone for reviewing! it means a lot to me! :)

Fischer is really weird in this chapter, since I don't really know how to write him.

* * *

Ariadne had straightened her hair, and wore a red shirt with a black skirt, trying to change as much about her as she could. Arthur did not slick back his hair, and wore jeans and a t-shirt, with a dark blue jacket.

"You look so different, I swear this is the first time you have ever dressed like this." Ariadne looked at Arthur, smiling.  
"Hello." Fischer said, greeting them from his limousine, "Get in." Ariadne and Arthur hopped into the back of his limousine.  
"So where are you taking us?"  
"Just this Chinese place I know." Fischer answered.

"Sooo ... What are your names?" Fischer asked awkwardly during dinner.  
"I'm John and this is my fiancé Gladys. You must be the famous Robert Fischer Junior, am I correct?" Arthur asked.  
"Yes, yes I am." Fischer answered.  
"You are all over the news these days, for breaking up your father's empire." Ariadne said.  
"Yea. I don't know why I suddenly did that, I went to sleep on the aeroplane, and had this really weird dream about breaking up my fathers empire. So when I woke up, I did it." Fischer said, staring at them, "Dreams are really weird right?" Ariadne and Arthur nodded.  
"So what do you guys do?" Fischer asked.  
"We're both architects. That's how we met." Arthur said. Ariadne nodded.  
"Awesome." Fischer said, as the food arrived, "Dig in."

"The dinner is terrific but I'm afraid we must go now." Arthur said, "We have a very important project we have to finish up tonight."  
"Cut the crap." Fischer said, "You guys were in my dream which caused me to breakup my father's empire. I want to know why."  
"We ... don't know what you're talking about ..." Ariadne answered.  
"Yes you do. And I want answers. _NOW_." Fischer demanded.  
"Okay, okay." Arthur said suddenly. Ariadne looked at him in surprise.  
"We were on the same plane you were." Arthur said.  
"So?" Fischer said.  
"When you see people in your lives, even if you have forgotten them now, they might show up in your dream. Like the killer you see in nightmares, might be your childhood teacher." Arthur paused, "You might have glance at us, so images of us may have appeared in your dream."  
"I'm not that stupid." Fischer said, "You're extractors, both of you."  
"What's an extractor?" Ariadne asked, innocently.  
"Don't play dumb." Fischer said, angrily.

"Fine. We'll tell you everything." Arthur said quietly. Ariadne shot him a surprised look.  
"See, there's this company called Dobol Engineering, it's a really cruel company. We used to work for Dobol, and after a few missions, we couldn't take it anymore. After your mission, we destroyed Dobol once and for all, We're very sorry for what we did. We hope you can forgive us." Arthur said.  
"Well, I'm glad you told me." Fischer said, "And I guess I destroyed my father's empire for a good reason, I mean, now I've started my own company."  
"We really have to go now." Arthur said, "Goodbye."  
"Goodbye John and Gladys." Fischer said.


	33. A New Enemy

"That was so close!" Ariadne said to Arthur on the way home.  
"Yea." Arthur replied.

"Arthur, there's a letter." Ariadne said walking through the front door, pointing to the table.

_Ariadne and Arthur,_  
_We have your little friends Eames and Yusuf here in Mombasa, come and get them if you want. We're in an abandoned hotel._

"Who would it be from?" Ariadne wondered.  
"I don't know. C'mon let's go, we have to go get Eames and Yusuf."

"Where the hell would they be!" Ariadne muttered to herself, "There are millions of abandoned hotels in Mombasa!"  
"That one." Arthur said, gesturing to the abandoned hotel opposite them, "Let's go check."  
"Take a gun." Arthur said, handing her a gun, "Be careful."

Ariadne and Arthur burst through the doors, holding their guns up.  
"Hello." A woman stepped out of the shadows.  
"G ... Gabby!" Ariadne gasped.  
"Hey Ariadne!" Gabby sneered evilly.  
"What do you want?" Arthur asked.  
"In case you didn't know, I worked for Cobol Engineering." Gabby said, "And yes, I know about extractions."  
"Where are Eames and Yusuf?" Ariadne asked.  
"Bring them out!" Gabby yelled to one of the guards. Immediately, two guards dragged Eames and Yusuf out of the darkness, swollen and bleeding.  
"Let them go!" Arthur yelled.  
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Gabby sneered.

Suddenly, there was a gunfire and Arthur and Ariadne fell to the ground unconscious.  
Arthur and Ariadne woke up in chains, with Eames and Yusuf beside them.  
"Are you guys okay?" Ariadne asked them.  
"What do you think darling?" Eames replied, mouth full of blood.  
"I'm okay ... I guess ..." Yusuf answered.

"Good morning." Gabby's voice purred behind them.  
"What do you want?" Arthur yelled.  
"Revenge. You destroyed Cobol Engineering." Gabby replied.  
"So what are you going to do to us?" Eames asked.  
"You guys are going to play a little game."  
"What game?" Ariadne asked.  
"Before I answer that, let's take a little ride."

"See this island?" Gabby pointed outside the window of the plane. The four friends peered outside the windows, and saw a huge green island, with a volcano.  
"Yes." Yusuf said.  
"I'm going to dump you there." Gabby said, "I have prepared traps and enemies there. If you can survive one week on that island, I'll let you go. But you probably won't survive."  
"I ... hate ... you ... Gabby ..." Ariadne spat out.  
"Whatever." Gabby rolled her eyes, "Let the games begin."


	34. Games

I just wrote a new Inception fanfic! It would mean a lot to me if you guys could review it! :)

.net/s/6364426/1/Secrets_And_Decisions

* * *

The airplane landed on the island, and Gabby pushed all four of them out, leaving them stranded on the island with no escape.

"Great, just _great_." Arthur muttered to himself.  
"What are we going to do now?" Ariadne asked.  
"Let's go find a good place to camp out." Yusuf answered.  
"We're gonna have to stick together of we want to survive." Eames said, gazing up at the sky.  
"Then that's what we'll do." Arthur said, taking Ariadne's hand.

"How bout there?" Eames said, pointing to a cave.  
"That'll do." Arthur replied.  
"How will we ... survive?" Ariadne asked, her voice shaky.  
"Don't worry, we'll get through this." Arthur said, stroking her hair.  
"Yusuf, you and Eames can go find food. Ariadne and I will stay here and set up our camp." Arthur said.  
"Okay darling, but I can't guarantee we'll find anything." Eames replied.  
"We still have our watches. Be back by 6:30 pm." Arthur said.  
"Okay. Goodbye." Yusuf said, walking back into the woods with Eames.

"I can't believe this is happening." Ariadne said, flicking her bishop, and started to panic even more when it hit the ground.  
"Relax, I used to be a boy scout." Arthur said, winking, making Ariadne laugh.  
"So how do we set up campfire?" Ariadne asked.  
"We need to go find some wood." Arthur said, taking her hand, "C'mon let's go."

Arthur and Ariadne wondered through the jungle, picking up wood. Not long, they had enough wood and decided to go back to camp.  
"What's that noise?" Ariadne whispered to Arthur.  
"Stay close to me." Arthur whispered back to her, grabbing a sharp piece of wood.

Suddenly, a man jumped down from above, covered completely in black, with a sword in his hand.  
"Hello." He said, and ran towards Arthur. Arthur immediately smacked him with the piece of wood, causing it to break, then punched him in the face. The man quickly recovered and kicked him in the stomach, making Arthur groan in pain. He quickly punched the man again, and strangled him until he couldn't breathe, and fell to the ground dead.  
"Are you okay?" Ariadne ran towards him and hugged him.  
"I'm fine." Arthur said, taking the man's sword, "Let's get this wood back to the camp."

"Do you know how to start a fire?" Ariadne asked Arthur back at the camp.  
"Yes." Arthur replied, taking two rocks and rubbed them together, making a spark, which caused a fire.  
"Did you get hurt by that man?" Ariadne asked.  
"Not really." Arthur said, "But I have a feeling there's more people like him out there." Ariadne shivered.  
"I mean, Gabby said this place was full of traps and enemies, you should be more careful, because you're pregnant." Arthur said. It's been eight months, and Ariadne's stomach was huge.  
"I'll be careful." Ariadne said.  
"Good." Arthur said, smiling, and kissed her.

"Excuse me lovebirds." A familiar voice caused Arthur to break apart.  
"You're back!" Ariadne said.  
"Yes, with food." Yusuf said, dumping a pile of fish and a dead boar on the ground.  
"Good. I'll get the food ready." Arthur said, takin the food to the fire.  
"Wow! Where did you get the sword from, darling?" Eames said, noticing the sword lying on the ground.  
"We were ambushed by the guy." Ariadne said, "Arthur killed him and took his sword."  
"I see." Eames said, "Well in that case, we gotta be more careful."


	35. Escape

"How are you feeling?" Arthur said, sitting next to Ariadne.  
"Okay I guess. The baby's hungry today." Ariadne replied, grinning.  
"You are going to be a mother in one and a half weeks." Arthur said, putting his arm around her shoulder.  
"Then we need to get out of here." Ariadne said, "It's been five days, we already been ambushed almost ten times!"  
"I know. I'm thinking how to get off this island." Arthur said, "I mean, there must be a headquarters of some sort here right? if we can find it, there might be something that can get us off this damn island."  
"Yea I guess so." Ariadne said, "I remember seeing a white dot when we were on the plane. Maybe that's the headquarters."  
"You might be onto something ..." Arthur said, thinking, "Do you remember where it is?"  
"Right next to the volcano." Ariadne said.  
"Well let's go then." Arthur said.

After a long walk, the team finally arrived at the volcano. Ariadne was right, there was some sort of headquarters standing right in front of them. There were helicopters landing and taking off._ Perfect_, Arthur thought to himself, gazing at the headquarters.

"So what's the plan?" Ariadne asked.  
"Steal a helicopter and get the hell off this island darling." Eames replied.  
"And exactly how are we going to do that?" Ariadne asked.  
"It doesn't look like there's much security around here. It should be easy to break in to." Yusuf said.  
"Perfect." Ariadne said, smirking.

Eames and Arthur burst through the doors, holding their guns up and shooting all the guards (they had gotten the guns from previous attackers), they all quickly rushed up the stairs, Arthur leading the way, Ariadne following Arthur behind him, lastly Eames and Yusuf.

"You didn't think you could get away that easily could you?" The team was just about to climb into the helicopter when Gabby stopped them.  
"_Go_!" Arthur quickly pushed Ariadne and Eames into the helicopter and began shooting the guards. Eames flew the helicopter as fast as possible, leaving Arthur and Yusuf stranded on the island.

"We can't just leave them there!" Ariadne screeched, tears in her eyes.  
"I'm getting you off this island, before I go back for them." Eames said.  
"They might die there! Arthur might die there!" Ariadne yelled.  
"Don't worry darling, Arthur's been in these kind of situations, he knows what to do." Eames said.  
"You have to promise me you'll go back for them." Ariadne said.  
"Trust me darling, I will."

"What are you going to do to us?" Arthur asked.  
"Nothing, on one condition." Gabby purred.  
"What?" Yusuf asked..  
"I'll let both of you go if you can help me kill someone."  
"Who?" Arthur asked.  
"Nash." Gabby said, "I managed to capture him and strand him on this island, but none of my men can kill him, if you kill him, I'll let you go."  
"We'll think about it." Arthur said.  
"You have two hours to make your decision." Gabby said, leaving the cell Arthur and Yusuf were trapped in.

"Who's Nash?" Yusuf asked.  
"Cobb and I used to work with him when we were with Cobol Engineering, he was our architect. When one of our missions failed, he sold us out so he could live." Arthur said.  
"So we should accept this deal then." Yusuf said.  
"But I don't want to be a killer." Arthur said, quietly.  
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Yusuf replied, "Your fiancé is having a baby in a week, we need to get out of here."  
"You're right." Arthur said, "I'll do it."

"I'll kill Nash for you." Arthur said to Gabby.  
"Perfect." Gabby's lips curved into a smiled, "Here's a tracking device, the blue dot is you, the red dot is Nash. Shouldn't be any trouble finding him, the hard part is killing him. Good luck." Gabby handed him the tracking device, Arthur took it and grabbed his gun.

"He should be right around the curve." Yusuf whispered to Arthur. Arthur nodded. Arthur crept behind a bush, and saw Nash. His clothes were all covered in dirt and blood, and he was cooking some meat over a campfire.

"Hello Nash." Nash turned around to see Arthur pointing a gun at him.  
"What are you doing here?" Nash asked.  
"I'm here to kill you." Arthur voice was emotionless.  
"I've survived on this island for over eight months, I think I can take you." Nash said, holding up a knife.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Arthur said.  
"But I'm not you." Nash said, and charged towards him. Arthur fired his gun, but Nash dodged the bullet. Arthur punched Nash in the face, and kicked him, Nash ducked and missed Arthur's kick and punched him in the stomach. Arthur quickly grabbed him arm and twisted it, making Nash yell in pain, then Arthur pointed the gun to his head and fired.  
"You did it!" Yusuf said.  
"Yea. Let's get back to headquarters." Arthur said.

"How are you feeling darling?" Eames asked. They were in Ariadne's house.  
"Good. You have to go get Arthur and Yusuf now." Ariadne said.  
"Not now, I need to make sure you're okay." Eames said.  
"Arthur could be fighting for his life right now!" Ariadne said.  
"Don't underestimate your fiancé Ariadne. He's probably fine." Eames said, "Go to sleep. I'll get him tomorrow, I promise."  
"Fine." Ariadne sighed and closed her eyes.

"We did what you wanted, now let us go." Arthur dumped Nash's lifeless body in front of Gabby.  
"Very good. I am impressed." Gabby said.  
"Let us go." Arthur said.  
"Fine." Gabby said, pointing to the helicopter behind her, "There's your ride."  
"Thanks." Arthur and Yusuf climbed into the helicopter and flew away.


	36. Childhood Secrets

Sorry, I haven't updated in a LONG time. Been busy with school work, I'll try to update more often :) PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

_Ding dong ding dong_ ... Ariadne's door bell started ringing. Since Ariadne was still asleep, Eames opened the door.

"Darling!" Eames said, grinning, "How did you get back?"  
"Made a deal with Naomi." Arthur said, stepping in the house, with Yusuf behind him.  
"How's Ariadne?" Arthur asked, sitting down on the sofa, as Eames handed him a cup of warm tea.  
"She great! She's actually asleep at the moment." Eames replied.

Ariadne woke up to the sound of laughter. She yawned and slowly got out of bed, and slipped on her slippers. She then went downstairs to see what was happening.  
"Your sleeping beauty's here, darling." Eames chimed, motioning him to take a look at the staircase.  
"Arthur?" Ariadne said, rubbing her eyes just to be sure.  
"I'm back!" Arthur said, grinning at her.  
"Arthur!" Ariadne yelled and bolted down the steps, and rushed into Arthur's arms. Arthur hugged her tight and kissed her passionately. Eames and Yusuf smiled at the lovebirds while they kissed.

"How did you get off the island?" Ariadne asked, after the heart-warming reunion was over.  
"Gabby made a deal with us. She would let us go if we killed Nash." Arthur replied, putting his arm around her waist.  
"Who's Nash?" Ariadne asked.  
"A stick in the mud like Arthur. He sold Arthur and Cobb out in bargain for his life after an extraction job went wrong." Eames answered. Arthur nodded in agreement.  
"So you killed him?" Ariadne asked.  
"Yes. I would have done anything to get back to you." Arthur said, leaning in for another kiss.

"Well we can definitely cross Gabby off the guest list to our wedding." Ariadne said, once Eames and Yusuf left.  
"Yep." Arthur said, laughing.  
"How about your mother? We should invite her!" Ariadne asked.  
"She thinks I'm dead." Arthur said quietly.  
"But it's our wedding! Wouldn't she want to see you get married?" Ariadne asked.  
"No, she wouldn't." Arthur's voice was cold and bitter, "Just promise me you won't go and find her okay?"  
"Fine. I promise." Ariadne sighed.

"Eames?" Ariadne asked over the phone.  
"Wassup?" Eames asked.  
"Meet me at the warehouse."

Eames walked briskly into the warehouse, expecting Arthur and Ariadne to be standing there, with another job offer. But instead, it was only Ariadne.  
"I need your help." Ariadne said.  
"With what?" Eames asked.  
"I need to go find Arthur's mother." Ariadne answered.  
"You don't wanna do that." Eames suddenly became serious.  
"Why?" Ariadne asked.  
"Wait, you have talked to Arthur about this right?" Eames asked.  
"I did, but he said not to." Ariadne paused, "But I want to meet his mother and invite her to the wedding."  
"Don't." Eames said, "If there's one thing you shouldn't do, it's venturing into Arthur's past. And trust me, you wouldn't like it."  
"Why? Arthur's childhood wouldn't be that bad." Ariadne said.  
"Has Arthur told you anything about his parents?" Eames asked.

_"What were you're family like?"  
"My dad left home when I was 5, and my mum's been in and out of jail since then, leaving me to take care of myself. I ran away when I was 15, and never went back. My mum thinks I'm dead." _Arthur's words rang in her head.

"Yes, he said that his dad left home when he was little and his mother went in and out of jail since then. So he ran away when he was fifteen. That's it."  
"Look, there's something I probably shouldn't tell you, but you need to know." Eames said, quietly.  
"What?" Ariadne said, curiously.  
"When I first met Arthur, he kept everything to himself, so I decided to do some research. Arthur's mum went in and out of jail ... because she was abusing Arthur."  
"W ... what?" Ariadne stammered. She wasn't expecting Arthur's childhood to be ... that bad.  
"And he was a drug addict and a gang member in his teenage years." Eames added.  
"No ... that can't be true!" Ariadne said, defending Arthur.  
"It is." Eames replied, "So that's why you shouldn't go and find his mother." Eames walked out of the warehouse, leaving Ariadne shocked.

"Arthur darling?" Ariadne said, lying next to him in bed.  
"Yes?" Arthur wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.  
"I know about your childhood." Ariadne blurted out. Arthur suddenly let go, and sat up, not looking at her.

"How ... did you find ... out?" Arthur's voice was shaky, and there was pain in his eyes. Ariadne had never seen him like this. It was like something trapped deep down inside him had been released. This was a more emotional side of Arthur. A completely different side of him.  
"I'll let you that later. But why didn't you tell me?" Ariadne asked, sitting up, and put her arm around his shoulder.  
"I ... don't like talking about ... it." Arthur said quietly, looking down.  
"You had a damaged childhood, you have every right not wanting to talk about it, but you should have told me about it." Ariadne replied.  
"I don't like the person I used to be." Arthur said, turning to face her, "I was a drug addict, a thief, and a bully."  
"It doesn't matter who you used to be, what matters is who you are now." Ariadne said, taking his hand, "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I didn't want you to ... find out, because I was afraid I would lose you. You will never know how much you mean to me, I would kill myself if you ever left." Arthur said, Ariadne saw a tiny tear in his eye.  
"Nothing you could say or do would make me leave you. I love you." Ariadne replied.  
"I love you too." Arthur murmured softly, and kissed her gently.


End file.
